Lunchtime Investigation

Lunchtime Investigation

This time around, I decided to do some investigative work. I’m one of the stir-fry junkies on campus, so I became pretty familiar with the options quickly. One ingredient I have often noticed, and have tipped my imaginary hat to those brave enough to opt for it, is the crabmeat. As a general rule, I tend to stay away from cafeteria seafood options. Since my elementary days, when tuna boats were all the rage, I just couldn’t stomach the idea of cafeteria fish. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up in a coastal town in southern Alaska, I have a deeply ingrained love of fish. Still, something about the mystery behind cafeteria food makes me extremely wary of anything from below the waves. So as I stood in line, I began to wonder, can it really be that bad? No one has been hospitalized from consuming the crabmeat in Chase thus far, and I’m sure if this were a concern, the cafeterias wouldn’t leave the option open. So I took a deep breath, and placed my order.

I am very relieved to report that I had no life threatening reaction to my crabmeat stir-fry. Not even a slight stomachache. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I liked it, or that I would get it again. More than anything else, the texture threw me off. Still, it wasn’t the horrid result I thought it would be. A little fishy, a little squishy, but in the end, it was just my regular stir-fry meal with a twist.  By the end of lunch, this investigation led me to wonder, what other options are being shunned in the cafeteria simply because of misled perceptions? From now on, I think I’ll try to be a little open minded about what is being offered – maybe even try a few new things.

Halloween: Breaking Boundaries

Well it’s about time that the sugar high from Halloween is wearing off, and we’re all struggling to exercise and trying to get fit until we relapse in a fit of gluttony that is Thanksgiving. Though Halloween was 2 weeks ago, I still find people munching on leftover candy and talking about their experience during the festive holiday.

I am not a person who greatly favors sweets and candy, however the experience that the candy creates is something of a marvel. Little kids love trick-or-treating, but there comes a certain age in which that could be considered ‘socially unacceptable.’ This does not mean that adults are alienated from this event; we just incorporate it into our lives in different ways.

Every year Wheaton hosts a cohort of young trick-or-treaters that flood a designated part of campus to ask for candy. Our private, often seemingly closed-space campus is suddenly opened to the public all for the sake of giving away candy. Well it may not just be the candy per se, having these young children flitter around brings a warm feeling to heart- or at least for me it does. As a person who no longer trick-or-treats, seeing the joy on these children’s faces makes me reflect on the excitement I used to get. As we age and move through different life stages, our ways of eating change and Halloween takes on a new meanings.

Trick-or-treating can be interpreted as just another cog in our blighted, inauthentic culture infected by capitalist, consumerist thinking. I, for one, never thought that the holiday could present issue for some that could not afford it. Observing kids costumes you can sometimes distinguish who has the funds to buy a fancy, high-quality, well-produced store outfit versus one that is put together with objects lying around the house.

But to kids none of this matters. Whether handcrafted or store-bought, kids seem to be able to push this thought away and focus on the fun experience that trick-or-treating. Who cares what you wear when your objective is to have fun collecting candy? As longs as you are able to fashion something, whilst going around the neighborhood class doesn’t- or should not- affect the amount of candy a kid should get. For one time of the year, class lines become blurry and should be almost indistinguishable.

As an adult I find that my idea of Halloween may still be dressing up, but, instead of going out for candy, I often find pleasure in the food I can create to reflect the ‘Halloween experience.’ Making toffee apples, brownie graveyards, incorporating pumpkin spice in everything, and decorating my living accommodation are ways in which I can experience Halloween as an adult. But my student budget can only stretch so far and I have to be aware I may have more limitations than others when it comes to the costume or candy that I buy.

I have been to a fair-share of Halloween parties and one can easily tell who much money was put into the decorations and the food. And yet, just like when we were kids, we push this aside for the sake of having fun. Now, we are often awarded for our creativity of handmade costumes and decorations. As we age we become more aware of our socio-economic status, however when Halloween rolls around we are once again freed of these constraints as long as we wear the holiday proudly, just like when we were young.

It’s all well worth it.

Improvements in Emerson (speaking as a vegetarian)

Do vegetarians have enough options in the dining hall? I’m often tempted to say no, but I’ve noticed a lot of improvements in the past year, especially in Emerson. The salad bar usually contains two different types of beans, an important source of protein, and there is often variety in the types of vegetables offered. Recently, Emerson has had different pre prepared, cold salads such as pasta salad, chickpea salad, quinoa, and couscous. All of these have other vegetables mixed in as well. There are also at least four different types of wraps available (including sun dried tomato and whole wheat) which provide even more options.

These are good options, but I wish there were more.  A few days ago, the only hot food being served were hot dogs and hamburgers. I was very dismayed that they didn’t offer veggie burgers as well. Though there has been some improvement in my opinion, the quality of produce is often very low. After watching Food Inc, I’d like to know more about where the dining halls get their produce. It would be really interesting if Red Tomato could become involved with getting local produce to nearby schools, not just supermarkets. 

Happy Birthday: The Purpose of Food in Celebrations

        Recently, my roommate enjoyed her 21st birthday with friends and family. Typically, food is associated with extravagant celebrations, but it wasn’t until I shared this social experience with her that I realized how highly college students value outside food. I challenged myself to observe food habits surrounding a birthday celebration and consider the purposes for each food related act. Why is food so important in the celebration of a students birthday? Food served three purposes in this context: the first was to apply the culturally embedded practice of cake eating, the second was to create a social experience, and the third was a reflection of student values through gift giving. 

         

       Roommate blowing out candles 

     

      Although food is the central reason for “going out to eat,” the social aspects are far more valuable. When asked by her family to pick a restaurant for dinner her response was “Wherever is fine, I don't really care.” I don’t really care? She had talked my ear off not hours earlier about how excited she was that her family was taking her out to eat, yet she “[didn’t] really care”!? It dawned on me that the value was not in direct correlation to the physical food that she was going to enjoy, but instead was anticipating seeing her family, and spending time with them, whatever the venue. Much like Karps article about beer drinking in Africa, the act of eating or drinking may be the theme or physical activity, but the concept of the social experience is what holds the most value. 

       Next, everyone (friends and family) joined together in our room to eat cake, sing Happy Birthday, and blow out candles. These traditions are decades old, and have become so woven into our culture that there is no question as to why they exist. In the context of birthday celebrations, cake can act as a delicacy, or treat so that someone feels special and celebrated. Other symbols associated with the cake are the birthday song, and the extinguishing of candles. Cake without these two elements can be placed in any other context, but otherwise are strong symbols for one kind of celebration. Just as sugar symbolized a social and economic status in Europe years ago, meat symbolized passion and masculinity for Victorian era women, and beer symbolizes social interaction for Southen Iteso habitants, cake with candles symbolizes the celebration of the anniversary of someones birth for us. 

        After the cake was eaten and gifts were given, it became very clear to me what college students value most. In front of my roommate sat a pile of chips, avocados, cookies, dipping sauces, crackers, cheeses and fruits. The only non-food items were given by her parents. As students of the meal plan, we are given a series of foods, day to day, that may not reflect the kinds of meals that we grew up on. “Comfort foods” such as cheese, crackers and chips that are not available in the dining halls are clearly important to the students of Wheaton College, because each guest individually chose food products to give as gifts. When my roommate asked her friends “how did you know I wanted this?” all of their responses expressed that if the roles were reversed, this is the gift that they would like to receive while living on campus. In another context, for example a birthday celebrated at home, gifts might vary to include more standard presents such as clothes, (like her parents got her) electronics, supplies and other products. The gifts that were exchanged reflected the values of Wheaton College students. 

       Social experiences, symbols of celebration and expression of values through gift giving were all reflected in the evening of my roommates 21st birthday, and clarified for me why food is so central to this celebration, especially for a college student. 

Changing Perceptions of Shared Food

Home-cooked pizza in the oven.

I question I have been asking myself lately is how my perceptions of food have changed. Though I didn’t realize it at the time, I believe I was very fortunate to have grown up in a family that made an effort to sit down every evening to dine together. Not only did this teach me to value the company of my parents and siblings, but it also taught me to value the food we were sharing. In my family’s home I was made very aware of the time, effort, and money that went in to each evening meal. My father might have been late to pick me up from school because he had to stop by the grocery store to get ingredients, dinner might have to be served late because my mother had been too busy to start preparing it, or maybe my parents had put in some extra hours this week to ensure we could afford the best options on our next grocery run. Often, my siblings and I were active participants in the preparation of the meal: shucking corn, peeling potatoes, stirring the sauce. And finally, after all the work each one of us had put into preparing the meal, we all sat down to share it. There was no perception of yours and mine at the dinner table, the food was ours. Most importantly however, I was taught to avoid wasting food. To leave the table with food still on my plate was a considered a taboo. How could I waste the product of all of our hard work?  Though as we have gotten older it has become harder to find time to eat together, I still carry the values I learned at my home's dinner table.

            Upon my arrival here at Wheaton however, the values that surrounded my relationship with food were called into question. No longer was I part of the process of gathering ingredients and preparing my meals, the food merely appeared in front of me. It seems fair to say that the same amount of energy and care does not go into preparing a meal in the dining hall as it had in my home. Besides from obviously affecting the taste, this has changed how I perceive food. The food I was eating here was not as valuable to me as the food I had been eating at home. Here, I had unlimited access to food whenever I wanted. I did not have to finish my plate, if I didn’t like what I had chosen I could throw it away and try something else. Sharing food became irrelevant, after all why share when more food can easily be acquired. Neither was sitting down to a meal as important as it had been to me, as I increasingly found myself getting food to go. However this doesn’t mean that the value of food has been lost on me. Wheaton events such as community potlucks and house dinners where friends come together to share dishes they have prepared have kept my value of

a well-cooked meal alive. If anything, my college experience has taught me to not take the experience of sharing a home-cooked meal for granted!

Vegetarians beware

Last week Chase served "Orange Honey glazed potatoes" in addition to fish. I assumed the potatoes were vegetarian friendly because they had not been labels otherwise. However, after trying them I instantly spit them out due to the overwhelming taste of the wish they had been served alongside of. Even though I understand that it's unlikely the potatoes in fact contained fish products, I was still upset by the literal sensation that I was eating fish. A non-vegetarian friend confirmed the overwhelming taste, which didn't in the least resemble honey or orange. Although perhaps this couldn't have been avoided, I feel that the failure to keep vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals separate shows Aramark's lack of attention to a variety of dietary restrictions, and only further limits the options of those who follow them. 

Guacamole, Tzedakah and Friends

Food has an amazing capacity to bring people together around a good cause. A couple weeks ago I saw this in action at theme house event, called the Guac-off. While guacamole might not always seem to be the first choice vehicle for community service, it was just that. After all, who doesn't love guacamole? The competition was an open call to all theme houses to make their own guacamole, which would then be judged by Wheaton faculty and Staff members, who would pick the winner and the winner would win the proceeds from the one dollar admission price to donate to a charity of of their choice. It was a chance for people to show off their culinary skills and creativity, which is something that does not often happen on a college campus. But it was also chance to do something you might love while also giving back to the community. Making the guacamole meant more than just buying a few delicious avocados and googling ways to spice up a recipe but it was also an exercise in mindful action. Every sliced onion, every pinch of salt became a chance to do something beyond yourself, which may sound dramatic but it's true. It made me think about my actions in terms of how the everyday could be extraordinary. Food is a necessary life force, something that I think about all the time, but how often does that thinking about food lead to a greater good? Unfortunately not as often as I'd like. The competition was held at the Jewish Life house, bringing to mind the tradition of Tzedakah, giving back to community in Jewish Faith. Though Tzedakah isn't a tradition I knew a lot about before hand, it's one, along with similar traditions in other cultures that has always struck me has having a certain beauty to it. While religion can manipulated and used to destructive ends, traditions like Tzedakah in Judaism and often times Islam as well, is a reminder of the humanity capacity to care for each other. While neither Jewish or Muslim, myself such human traditions are important to me because they are an acknowledgement of the unequal distribution of resources and power and the ways in which they have been combated across thousands of years. The Guac-off, was a way to connect with that history as well as with the Wheaton community around us. I got to combine my heritage, that of a Mexican-American with the heritage and traditions of others. The different guacamole's reflected the backgrounds of those who made them as well as the spirits of the houses who participated. Some of the dishes were experimental, mixing guacamole with Mediterranean flavors, or seasonal New England vegetables (squash) and some were classic that reminded me of summer picnics with me family. The winner? Not to brag but myself and Ivy took home the prize with a pomegranate, tequila and habanero recipe. The money raised will be donated to the Road Island Center for Sexual Health and Pleasure, an organization dedicated to sex positive education. The Guac-off became representative of so many important things in my life , food, social justice, history and sex education.