Who doesn’t love getting free food from the food trucks that come to California Lutheran University? For some people this is not possible because of dietary restrictions or full schedules.

As someone who does not have a car, it is hard enough to get food from places like The Habit or anywhere other than Ullman Commons or Centrum.  Because of this, when I get an email that begins with “Free Habit burgers on Wednesday,” my day is made. That is until I look and see in small print, ‘The Habit Burger truck will be on campus from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.” Then it suddenly hits me, I’ll be in class. This is a problem many students have faced.

“I’ve only been able to get food from the food trucks once.  Between class and work, I just never have time,” Cal Lutheran junior Taylor Netter said.

Some students miss out on the full benefits of the food trucks due to food allergies or dietary restrictions also.

Morgan Mantilla, a junior at Cal Lutheran who is vegetarian, said that although vegetarian options are available, “They aren’t as filling because the chicken is simply taken out rather than replaced. This makes it not a very good source of protein,” said Mantilla.

This should be thought about beforehand, and people with food allergies should be taken into consideration more.

Cal Lutheran assistant professor of marketing Dr. Sarah Fischbach who has been involved with bringing food trucks to campus said that the school does try to make sure the food trucks offer some sort of option to those students with dietary restrictions.

Though the food trucks do offer options for those with food allergies, there aren’t very good ones. It is unfair to exclude students who have dietary restrictions from being able to enjoy the food trucks brought to campus.

If the food trucks don’t offer choices for students of all needs Cal Lutheran should not allow them to come to campus.

Whether someone’s dietary needs mean being vegetarian, vegan, lactose intolerant or even gluten free, Cal Lutheran should be constantly striving to make every student feel safe and taken care of.

Personally, I love the food trucks that come to Cal Lutheran.  As a college student, it is nice to be treated to free burgers or shaved ice from time to time.  I just hope that one day, Cal Lutheran’s campus will be so progressive that everyone, regardless of their dietary restrictions, will be able to cheerfully wait in line to receive food that they can eat.

It should be a requirement set forth by the school that all food being served on campus meets everyone’s dietary needs.

Hopefully, having more options for people with dietary restrictions will make everyone on campus more comfortable in being who they are. If there are not options for everyone, not everyone can eat which can cause someone to feel self-conscious.

The stigma of people’s dietary restrictions can be changed, one burger at a time.

Anne Mukai
Reporter