Written by: Libby Thoma | Staff Writer and Claire Phillips | Entertainment Editor
Valsetz Dining Hall is a required amenity for on-campus freshmen and a necessity to many other on-campus students. Given that many students are required to have a meal plan with Valsetz, one would assume that its food would be high quality, nutritious, inclusive, and most importantly, safe.
Unfortunately, one would be incorrect in this assumption.
Valsetz has consistently had a problem with serving moldy, undercooked, and improperly prepared food, such as leaving feces in the food. Valsetz has also struggled with safely serving students with allergies, has racked up complaints from students of unlabeled ingredients and has been caught claiming to have food that is not available. Additionally, Valsetz has a critical lack of allergy food training within the kitchen, confirmed by a Valsetz worker.
Nearly every student who has paid for the dining hall has a horror story, and a disproportionate amount of students have experienced mild to severe cases of food poisoning due to the food they were served. Food-related illnesses have a significant influence on students’ education — affecting attendance and the ability to keep up with homework.
Food poisoning is not an issue to be taken lightly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 128,000 people a year suffer from food poisoning while 3,000 people succumb to this ailment in the US alone. It’s not surprising that Western students are now avoiding Valsetz Dining Hall after hearing stories from their peers or experiencing illnesses themselves.
Moldy bread, raw chicken, feces in shrimp, and many other unsafe food products have been served to the students of Western, resulting in terrible tales of food poisoning.
Out of 10 randomized students and workers who have a meal plan at Valsetz, only three haven’t had a stomach ache, mild to severe food poisoning, raw food or an allergic reaction. Three of 10 spoke of light stomach reactions to the food, one of 10 spoke of mild food poisoning, one of 10 spoke of severe food poisoning, one of 10 spoke about eating raw chicken and three of 10 said they haven’t had negative experiences.
Although, those who did not experience these things first-hand spoke of friends getting food poisoning, one even mentioning the story of a roommate getting food poisoning seven times from Valsetz in one school year.
Multiple students explained their stories of food poisoning. One anonymous student is quoted saying that after eating Valsetz steamed vegetables, “I was throwing up for days and was just throwing up literal stomach acid. They had to close the bathroom and use an ozone machine in it because the stomach acid was creating such a toxic smell and environment.”
Another anonymous student said they were “…severely ill for a week” due to moldy bread on a sandwich.
This is just a fraction of the many food poisoning stories breaking out across campus.
It is important to note that staff cannot be the blame for this. Staff members of Valsetz deal with plenty of their own problems such as being underpaid, understaffed and not having enough materials or time. The root of the problem is the dining hall isn’t getting sufficient funding.
This is shown through interviews with staff. One worker, who wanted to stay anonymous due to fear of getting into trouble, states that the fault does not lie with the student workers or the cooks, but with the managers. The workers began with their own experience with food poisoning when they ate a noodle bowl and had food poisoning for two weeks straight, with constant trips to the bathroom — another case of food poisoning greatly affecting a student’s academics.
The interviewee spoke about their experience with training, which they received little to none. This lack of training particularly pertained to training around safe food handling and, as the interviewee states, “We are unaware about how to safely handle the food and there’s been no clear explanation for how to keep the food separate for dietary needs.”
When managers were asked, each manager responded differently. However, even this may not even be the manager’s fault as they may have a lack of training as well — clearly this goes to the top.
The lack of training surrounding dietary needs is extremely dangerous, as some allergies are fatal. There have been many complaints, as stated earlier, of dietary restrictions not being met and allergic reactions occurring.
The anonymous Valsetz worker ended the interview stating, “That’s what made the work walk out necessary. During one of the lunch shifts, all the student workers walked out, protesting the unsafe food handling, the immense amount of waste and the unfair treatment of some of the workers. Although our concerns were heard and some things have changed, the process is slow and ineffective. The problems are being ignored and avoided by the managers.”
Many students are concerned that their tuition is being dispersed to other organizations on campus, and not to those that they use daily — such as their main source of food. Additionally, accessibility has become an issue for students who have dietary restrictions and who do their best to regulate the food they consume — their needs are not being fully met.
Regardless, many students contract food poisoning whether they have a dietary restriction or not — simply consuming the only food that is accessible to them.
CJ Denison, a sophomore and Resident Assistant at Western, recounted their Valsetz experiences since becoming a Western student. The RAs, who are paid primarily in food and board, are given the top meal plan to spend at the dining hall — only to be faced with potentially unsafe food. “I’ve reached a point with Valsetz where I mostly buy protein drinks and snacks and not the actual food they serve, because I don’t trust it,” Denison said.
The safest food options are also not necessarily the healthiest. “The fried food, which unfortunately is the least healthy, is generally the safest, because it’s cooked all the way through, and there’s not a lot of cross-contamination,” Denison said.
Cross-contamination is a major concern for students who have a gluten intolerance or Celiac disease, as well as for those who have other severe and life-threatening food allergies.
Many students have pointed out that the labels on each food item are not quite descriptive enough. Nutrislice, the online menu, does describe each item, but ingredients are not posted in person. Students may be consuming food they are not aware will cause them to have a reaction.
To make matters worse, another dilemma for college students with dietary restrictions is the rising price of safe foods offered by Valsetz. Gluten-free food is typically more expensive than its gluten counterparts. Because of the cost of a university education, and other costs of living, many students find themselves skipping meals and struggling to pay for healthy food.
If you find yourself in this position, Abby’s House, located on the first floor of the Werner University Center, provides basic needs resources for students who may be struggling with food insecurity. Additionally, the Food Pantry — located in the Welcome Center — provides students with food at no cost.
Even if the dining hall isn’t the only food option on campus, it should be working to provide a safer dining experience for all students who rely, or are forced to rely, on its services.
Contact the authors at howlentertainment@wou.edu and ethoma23@wou.edu
