Let's discuss a timeless USF student debate: dining halls. Some students swear by Juniper-Poplar Dining (JP Dining), while other dedicated students make a trek across campus just to grab a bite at Fresh Food Company (Fresh). However, there are both pros and cons to each of the dining halls on campus because let's face it, the true winner of USF dining halls is Champion's Choice.
Let's evaluate the diversity and variability of food served. Hundreds of students claim that JP Dining serves up many more options compared to that of Fresh. Though, when I further investigated, I found that JP Dining only serves a few more dishes on average than Fresh. One pro of JP Dining is the fact that it has a create-your-own omelet station for breakfast, which turns into a create-your-own pasta station for lunch and dinner. This station is extremely popular among students as lines often wrap around the dining hall just for a plate of quality pasta.
Taste is a major turn-on, or turn-off, for students looking for a place to eat on campus. Students often show favoritism for JP Dining's tasty food while I prefer Fresh's food, hands-down. This category is truly a matter of preference, although I believe there are some valid points that need to be discussed in favor of Fresh. First off, the produce station at Fresh is, simply put, fresher. The cookies also tend to taste more gooey and homemade. My favorite food to debate about is the ice cream at both dining locations. The ice cream at JP Dining is not very creamy at all. In fact, the ice cream is usually more ice than cream and feels gritty on the tongue. Fresh, on the other hand, has ice cream with a creamier, almost custard-like consistency that tastes more authentic. We must all remember, though, that all dining locations use the same foods and recipes, and the only difference is the cook who is making your food.Many people can cook the same recipe and the dishes can turn out slightly deviant every time around.
The location of both dining halls is extremely crucial when deciding where to stop to eat between classes. JP Dining, although very convenient for students living in Juniper-Poplar Hall, is especially inconvenient otherwise with it being shoved all the way at the southwest corner of campus. Even attending classes in buildings near JP makes the walk annoying, inconvenient and honestly, not worth the time and energy when you need to catch your next class in 20 minutes. Fresh, directly on the opposite side of campus to JP Dining, is a more practical dining location to most students since the majority of USF students living on campus live on that side of campus—Andros Complex, Argos Complex, and Greek Village. Fresh is a decently short walk to the Marshall Student Center, Bookstore, Health Clinic and is easily accessible to students on campus. Although Fresh is put in an awkward position within Argos Complex in which it can be a hunt to find the door, Fresh is generally located and situated in a more practical and convenient manner.
One aspect of dining halls that really sticks out to me is the amount of food the servers put on your plate. Yes, the dining halls are buffet style, but we've all encountered a time when a dining hall server has given us too little or too much food; we don't want to be a bother so we just accept the food we are given and shuffle back to our tables to assess the size of food on our plates. Most students can agree that Fresh usually serves you more food at a time—especially important when the fries are hot. In this respect, students usually deem JP Dining servers as being more stingy with the amount of food they give out. For instance, JP Dining will serve me five fries at a time, which is bothersome to continuously go back for more if you are sure you are going to eat all of the fries they serve you. Interestingly enough is that Fresh has more students to feed, yet they are dedicated enough to repeatedly cook more and more food just to serve students decent-sized meals.
The hunt for eating utensils is on within both dining halls. You are often hit with the same dilemma: using dirty utensils or eating with your bare hands. The fact is that JP Dining, although often running out of utensils and even with the fact that picking up unclean utensils is still a major concern, does not have as large of an issue as Fresh when it comes to finding utensils. Trying to find a fork at Fresh is like playing manhunt when ten other students are also trying to find a fork. Nobody wins.
One thing, in particular, needs to be addressed about Fresh when comparing dining halls: sanitation. From insects and contact lenses in food to unidentified items on your plate, Fresh is not sanitary or safe by any means. Recently, the hashtag #FreshIsSketch has surfaced on Facebook to provide proof of the uncleanliness and hazardous incidents that happen at Fresh. USF Dining Services needs to address these concerns immediately, or students may find that choosing between these two dining halls has come down to an overwhelmed JP Dining and an empty Fresh.
Probably the greatest con of JP Dining is their ridiculous hours of service. Sundays, JP Dining is open from 10 a.m. until midnight. On weekdays, JP Dining first opens at 7 a.m. and closes its doors at midnight, except for Friday, when it closes at 9 p.m. That's right, 9 p.m. I don't even get back from work before that time. If it couldn't get any worse, on Saturdays, JP Dining opens at 10 a.m. and again closes at 9 p.m. How do you close a dining hall that early? What makes it worse is that the servers start throwing away food and cleaning up about an hour before the dining hall officially closes. So, if you're planning on going to JP Dining at 8 p.m. on Friday or Saturday, think again. Fresh is 100 percent better with their hours of operation. Fresh is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 2 a.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. until 2 a.m.
Fresh staying open until 2 a.m. every night is a college student's true dream. The late night option at Fresh is super convenient for all occasions, including but not limited to, late night study sessions, getting home from work late, grabbing some food before, during or after a night of drinking and fulfilling late-night munchies in peace. Plus, the food during late night is always bomb, serving up a variety of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack foods. JP Dining is definitely lacking by not having late night hours like it did during the summer session, so Fresh earns an A+ in this respect.
Both dining halls look spectacular nonetheless, but JP Dining wins in this category by all means. JP Dining was renovated at a newer date, has a more clean, modern vibe, a more welcoming atmosphere and more comfortable booths and seating arrangements compared to Fresh. Sorry Fresh, but JP Dining has you beat there.
All in all, the choice of a favorite dining hall at USF is truly in your hands. Wherever you pick to share a meal with your friends or to get a quick bite before a full day of activities, USF Dining Services has got you covered. Now, who's hungry?
