Matt Weir / The Collegian

For senior Raymond So, eating at the University Courtyard Dining Hall during the four years of his college career has been more than enough. He said he usually prefers to eat elsewhere.

But the food has been slowly improving each year, and there are plenty of healthy choices for students, he said.
“The food tastes much better than four years ago,” So said.

Steve Fernandez, the executive chef of food services, said the dining hall staff has been researching food options to provide students with healthier foods and vegetarian meals. Fernandez said the dining hall is working to expand the selection of fresh and healthy food it offers to meet students’ needs.

“We try to have a variety of fruits, vegetables and soybean products to be healthy,” Fernandez said. “Our main focus is healthy, quality, low-fat food.”

Fernandez said the deep fried food is popular among students, so the dining hall uses oils that have no trans fats to limit the fat content of the foods. He said the dining hall also offers many steamed foods, including fish, chicken, beef and vegetables.

Fernandez said the dining hall also incorporates a variety of drinks for students, including milk and vitamin-enhanced water. He said the effort to provide healthy food also extends to the desserts. The cookies offered in the dining hall are made from low-fat dough.

“We provide everything that we can to ensure the students have a quality experience here,” Fernandez said.

The salad bar, Fernandez said, is another source of healthy food choices for students. He said there are several different types of lettuce and a variety of toppings. He added there is also a special salad, like potato or macaroni, twice a week.

“We try to incorporate different types of salad,” Fernandez said.

He said fruit is always limited, because most of it is not in season during the peak operation of the dining hall. But during the summer, when more variety is available, the dining hall expands its fruit choices. However, Fernandez said the facility provides some fruit year-round.

Deborah Guill, the senior manager at the dining hall, said the facility tries to follow market trends, and representatives attend several food shows throughout the year to discover new products. She said the dining hall also hosts vendor fairs that allow students to sample new food items from food companies.

Guill said much of the food in the dining hall is purchased from a variety of vendors, but a large amount of the produce and dairy products come from local companies and Fresno State.

“The dining hall purchases and features farm fresh organic produce from the campus organic plot,” Guill said. “All of our produce is delivered fresh six days a week.”

Sajeemas “Mint” Pasakdee, a research scientist and adviser for the student-operated farm at Fresno State, coordinates sales of organic produce from the farm.

She said a majority of the produce grown on the farm is conventional field crops, but a small portion of the farm is designated for organic produce.

“One acre of all campus farmlands is currently certified organic, which grows only seasonal organic produce,” Pasakdee said.

She said the crops that are grown in the organic farm include lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, onion, cabbage and strawberries.

Guill said the facility serves between 1,550 and 1,700 people each day, and about 450,000 meals each year.

She said the facility has several staple foods that are offered each day, including a sandwich bar, a grilled and deep fried food station, a pasta and grain station and a salad bar. Guill said there is also a feature station, which has different food each day. She said the dining hall also has several theme meals throughout the year to add fun and variety to the medley.

“We have a large selection of different types of food,” Guill said. “We prepare American, Italian, Mexican and Asian cuisines.”

Freshman Christine Glymph said she likes the dining hall, because it offers a variety of food and many healthy options.

“It has a little bit of everything,” she said. “It can pretty much fit everyone’s needs and likes.”

However, she said the food is not always as fresh as she would like. Glymph said the lettuce in the salad bar is occasionally wilted, and some entrée items are cold.

Guill said all of the dining hall meals are prepared daily with the freshest ingredients available. She said the dining hall works to accommodate people with special eating preferences.

“We feature a vegetarian entrée everyday at both lunch and dinner, and have a large salad bar with lots of choices,” she said.

But sophomore Vishal Vyas, who prefers a vegan diet, said his choices at the dining hall are very limited.

“I just eat fruit, milk and cereal; sometimes potatoes and spaghetti,” Vyas said.

Vyas said he would like the dining hall to label each of the meals as vegan, vegetarian or non-vegetarian. He said he currently has to ask about each product to see if it is something he can eat.

He said there are a variety of food options each day, but many of the meals are repeated weekly. Vyas said a good thing about the dining hall is that it consistently has healthy choices.

“The food is very healthy if you know how to choose,” Vyas said.

Guill said the weekly menu can be viewed on the dining services website. But students hoping to view the nutrition facts of each meal will be hard pressed to find them.

“Unfortunately, we do not have a menu program that is capable of this function at this time,” Guill said.