Menu Close

Way Healthy Wednesdays

College students around the country all agree that dining hall options can be monotonous and even bland at times. Many students can agree that it is difficult to find nutritious yet yummy options when they go to dine at a campus food hall. In response to this predicament, Siena College has come up with a way to spice up the experience for all their students and faculty.

 In 2014, Siena kitchen staff had introduced Roots Cafe to the campus dining options. Roots Cafe is a program that brings in local organic food to Siena’s kitchens in order to provide anyone eating at Siena an opportunity to eat sustainably. Roots Cafe was brought to Siena through a collaboration with the Real Food Campaign. This organization is a non-profit that has a goal to put emphasis on healthy foods in colleges all over the country. Their motto is, “A global collaboration connecting soil, plant and human health.” This organization makes a point to only use locally grown ingredients in all their food. They aim to teach students about a healthy lifestyle through food. By stressing the importance of nutrients in every ingredient, they provide foods that not only taste good, but are good for the body too. To learn more about this campaign visit their website at https://realfoodcampaign.org

Every Wednesday for lunch, Roots brings in a new and unique menu that often include gluten free and vegan options. Roots staff provides a delicious meal and all you need is an empty stomach and a meal swipe. During this lunch time, rather than the students having to wait in line for their meal, the Roots staff take volunteers to serve the hungry students. The meals are plated and ready to eat. Each meal includes an appetizer, salad, and entree and of course a dessert. Everything that is being offered is healthy and sustainable so students do not need to feel burned out by traditional college food. 

Although Siena College does a wonderful job keeping their dining halls stocked with healthy options, the Roots Cafe menu changes weekly allowing for exciting weekly changes. Every Wednesday is a new meal!

This gives students the opportunity to try foods that they might have never tried before and an opportunity to eat healthy with no extra thought. 

Siena College has made a conscious effort to keep their students happy and healthy and Roots Cafe is just one of the many ways they do so. Many students are constantly looking for news ways to eat healthy and trying new foods and Roots Cafe helps them achieve this.