Delta College’s student cafeteria food offerings are the equivalent of a terrible gas station.
Rather than providing affordable, quality nourishment for students on a campus with a multitude of students facing food insecurity, Delta’s cafeteria is left wanting.
As someone who grew up in a food-insecure household and with a Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis, I struggle to find appropriate fresh and healthy food options available on campus.
Delta’s cafeteria located in Danner Hall is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
It has almost equivalent offerings to the Delta Bookstore; shelf-stable, sodium and sugar-ridden garbage food offerings that offer little appeal or nourishment to students other than in times of desperation.
“I don’t really enjoy it (the food),” said Student Erika Rodriguez said about why she chooses to bring food from home rather than purchase from the cafeteria in Danner. “I feel like sometimes it’s really greasy or leaves a bad feeling in my stomach. I just don’t really enjoy the greasiness of it.”
Staff also have feelings about the limited offerings.
“I just feel like there needs to be more options and they need to be open later,” said Digital Media Multimedia Tech Leo Marquez. “There are night classes that happen here, and so for students who don’t have direct transportation, maybe they get a ride or they take the bus, and they come to class at 6 or 7 o’clock they can’t even go to the bookstore.”
Danner offers sandwiches, prepackaged salads, fruit, and a few hot options, but these options are lackluster and often overpriced for their quality.
Sure, there’s a frozen TV dinner selection of Clean Eatz Meals offered in the small iced-over freezer in the back of the cafeteria, but upon closer inspection, the best by date was back in January and February of 2024, some nine to ten months ago.
Delta tried a salad bar option a few years ago, but it was soon replaced by microwavable goods. “I would love to see some changes in the cafeteria as far as making food more healthy,” said student Sammy Jimenez. “I think that they’ve hesitated so far because maybe they feel like students won’t pay extra money for healthy food. My argument would just be like they haven’t tried. I would love to see some forward motion as far as having more healthy options that are just as readily prepared as their less healthy foods.”
Students also question quality of offerings.
“I think the quality of food offered in the Danner Hall cafeteria is not very good. It’s mainly like boxed food or like instant ramen that you can buy,” said student Juan Jafet Vilchis-Campos. “I kinda lean towards actual cooked meals instead of like something I have to microwave; it’s just not as appetizing.”
Thankfully, there are a few programs that offer significantly better-quality food for those who can afford to buy it. Student Chef and the Artisan Bakery are both food options that students look forward to, with products produced by students, and gladly pay for the great quality if they can afford it. The price for a sit-down meal at the Student Chef is $20 this semester. Mustang Cafe produces offerings between $5-10. Both venues are only open on Wednesdays. Artisan Bakery inside the Goleman Library only operates on Thursdays.
In the Sept. 2024 San Joaquin Delta Community College District Fund Summary for Food Service in the institution’s budget, numbers show the area is operating in a $185,000 deficit. Perhaps if the college would offer a variety of freshly made, affordable, quality meals to its students the cafeteria would get more customers.
As of now, Delta’s cafeteria food offerings are abysmal. When will the student body ever see some positive changes?
