By Kalie Ganem, VRG Intern

Calling all vegans, vegetarians, gluten-frees, or anyone with allergies. Goucher College dining hall food will do its best to cater to your needs. With seven different stations, there is something for everyone, but the stations most suited for anyone with dietary restrictions are Oasis, Nosh, and Explore.

With some new kind of customizable bowl each week and occasional vegan options, you can get what you want from the Explore station without eating the same old thing all the time. For example, this week the station has Thai vegetable bowls with rice, a choice of chicken (not vegetarian) or mushrooms for vegetarians, and your choice of 5 vegetables including sweet potato, broccoli, peppers, bok choy, and squash. You might want to supplement this bowl and bowls like it with some of the hearty options from the salad bar or from home such as chickpeas or quinoa to get some sustenance in your meal. I enjoy this station because it has options for the general public, while also often accommodating vegan diets.

Oasis serves vegan and gluten free options, with something new and different every day. Their definition of vegan is “plant-based food, without containing any animal byproducts.” However, nothing was mentioned about the way it is cooked, or if separate equipment is used. Whether it’s their vegan/gluten free waffles for breakfast or their vegan jackfruit tacos for dinner, you will be satisfied at almost every meal. Some other vegan options include white bean hummus plate with vegetables, Thai rice bowls, lentil and fall salad, quinoa and kale soup, and roasted squash and mint salad tossed with pumpkin seeds. I greatly appreciate the variety and creativity of this station, as well as the accessibility to people with allergies and dietary restrictions. This station always has a very rich full flavor that leaves me satisfied after every meal. Look out and stay away from the occasional meat products however. These will not be labeled vegan.

Nosh occasionally has the same options as Oasis (but in a kosher version complete with paper plates), but other times switches it up. With a fruit salad every day, Nosh gives plenty of vegan food, including the occasional packaged vegan dessert such as whoopie pies. Some more dishes include vegan dirty rice bowls, chickpea cakes, falafel, and roasted vegetables.

Overall, I’m impressed with the accommodations for vegan diets on campus. I am able to get my full servings of fruits and vegetables each day. The vegan selection can be very hit or miss depending on the day, so I would recommend getting a fridge full of backup vegan goodies from the Fresh Market or Safeway right down the street. Compared to UCLA’s foods, the school I previously attended, there are definitely less vegan options at Goucher. But this may be because UCLA is catering to a much larger, more diverse population that includes more people with a variety of diets, therefore they have the freedom to experiment in order to meet the demand. But in general, I would say that Goucher is much more accommodating of the vegan diet than the average college dining hall. I would like to see more small schools following Goucher’s lead.

Here is information about some other schools: https://www.vrg.org/teen/#college