At the University of St. Thomas, if students don’t want to eat in the dining halls, T’s or Scooters, that means they are cooking for themselves. Luckily, students on campus can share why they changed their meal plan and challenges and tips with cooking in second year residence halls.
Frey sophomore Andrew Ginder said cooking in second-year residence halls is an enjoyable experience.
“It’s nice. Most people keep it really clean, that’s all I really want,” Ginder said.
Another student describes a cozier experience.
“Cooking in mid-campus, it feels like home. I can make my culture’s food there,” said Mid-campus sophomore Ayantu Tofiq.
In Grace Hall there is “one small kitchen” but “a very limited amount of people use it,” according to sophomore Sasha Ivashchenko.
These students said they appreciate the ability to cook in their residence halls and be in charge of the food they eat.
Reasons for dropping the unlimited plan vary.
“Money, I didn’t want to pay for the whole meal plan,” said Grace sophomore Ella Stenberg.
“I didn’t want to go all the way to the dining halls, you know Grace is pretty far from everything else so I figured I might as well make food that I actually like,” Ivashchenko said.
“We have a full kitchen…cooking is not just a chore, it’s fun,” Totten said.
However, there are challenges that come with cooking on campus.
“The biggest challenge will be to find time in my schedule to cook,” Tofiq said.
“Sometimes it’s like 10 p.m., and you don’t have anything prepped, and you go downstairs and there’s five people in the kitchen,” Ivashchenko said.
“‘What would taste good together?’ It’s a struggle to be creative with your food,” Totten said.
“One of the biggest things you wouldn’t think about necessarily, is that you have to bring everything from your room to where you’re cooking,” Stenberg said. “So for me from the fourth floor, that’s a bit of a thing in itself and if you forget something…”
Totten said it’s harder to be healthy when living in dorms, which Stenberg seconds.
“In the dorm it’s so easy to get sick and I think not eating different kinds of foods makes that even easier,” Stenberg said.
Stenberg’s tip to stay healthy and diversify meals is to utilize the Tommie Food Shelf, a grocery giveaway on campus that provides shelf-stable and fresh produce to students for free. Totten said attending farmer’s markets is another great way to get vegetables for cheaper.
As far as kitchen tools and staples go, a unanimous must-have are a pot and a pan.
“Get your own pots and pan kit, specifically one that has a detachable handle, so that way you can use the same handle for each tool,” Asante said.
He also recommends tupperware and your basic spices.
“Your paprika, your salt, your pepper, garlic powder, onion powder,” Asante said.
However, Stenberg warns against having too much cookware.
“I mostly use a spatula, and one pan and one pot. I think more than that and it gets hard in the dorms to clean stuff,” Stenberg said.
Ivashchenko shares a last piece of advice for those considering downgrading their meal plan after freshman year; a staple that will survive the test of time and meet the cravings of many college students.
“Always have pasta on you,” Ivashchenko said.
Leila Montoya can be reached at mont1761@stthomas.edu.
