By: Ashton Burton
Managing Editor
LIU Brooklyn’s Student Government Association surveyed the student population about their satisfaction and needs when it comes to campus food back in early October. 856 students were polled in the dorms, Freshens, the library, and financial aid. After about a month, the results are in!
When asked on a scale of 1-5 how satisfied students are overall with LIU’s food service, the majority of the population (32.2%) rated LIU with a 3, while 20.1% rated it a 1, and 9.9% rated it a perfect 5. This calls the question: what needs to be addressed and how can LIU get these numbers to rise?
Many students responded with their individual needs when it comes to food, such as their dietary preferences that LIU doesn’t particularly offer enough of. In this area, 107 respondents said they were vegetarian, 55 were vegan, and 98 were pescatarian.
A major complaint amongst the student body is that there are not enough food options to accommodate to these specific diets. The Aramark general manager, Fred Aichelmann, claimed that they’re “looking at more options for fish”, which, of course, will be great for the pescatarians, but not so much for vegetarians and vegans at LIU. However, Aichelmann said “we have
a lot more vegan options” now, offering at least one vegan meal a day.
Another major complaint was about the lack of halal food and kosher food. With 74 respondents requesting more halal and 93 requesting more kosher, these seem to be two large groups that should be addressed. While not much was said in regards to whether or not the amount of halal food will increase, Aichelmann did say that “Kosher is not an option because we do not have a kosher kitchen”.
Students were also surveyed on their satisfaction with specific food spots on campus, asking them to rate their experiences on a scale of 1-5 or they could answer with the sixth option, which was simply “don’t go”. To no surprise, Shark Bites got the lowest satisfaction ratings, with 39.48% of respondents saying “don’t go”. Another shocking statistic with Shark Bites is that 60% of polled students claimed that they were unaware that all students could eat there, not just those that live in the dorms.
On the contrary, Peet’s came in with the highest results, with 14.63% of respondents rating it a perfect 5. Along with being asked the student satisfaction with Peet’s, they were also asked roughly how many times a week they purchase coffee, with the highest percentage surprisingly being 0, but was followed by 28.20%of students saying they purchase coffee on-campus 3-5 times weekly.
These results show a clear need for improvement amongst the LIU food services. The food services office is H306, next to Peet’s, where all suggestions are welcome and concerns can be given.