It’s very important to offer a variety of food at Bakersfield College, according to Diana Murrell, who works in the Renegades Food Court.
“Everyone likes different things, some like junk food and others want salads and fruit, so we offer many choices,” said Murrell.
The Panorama Grill and Renegades Food Court offer salads, fruit, deli sandwiches, tuna, water and Powerade.
“Sometimes I just want to hurry and get a healthy snack to eat on my way to class, but all I can get is water, and sometimes I get stuck buying Hot Cheetos because it’s all I can grab,” said Gabriela Cruz, BC student.
The BC cafeteria has junk food such as chips, cookies, brownies, cakes, chocolate bars, candy and soda for students to just grab. These foods aren’t necessarily healthy, but they are the less expensive when compared to other items in the cafeteria.
“I try my best to stay healthy for my kids, but it is just so hard because the food here costs so much, especially the healthy food,” said BC student mother Patricia Rivas.
“I’d just rather grab a bag of chips or a cookie and a soda for about $3, because if I try getting a water bottle and some fruit that would be like $5, which is totally not worth it.”
BC does its best to provide foods that are healthy for students and athletes.
Both the Renegades Food Court and the Panorama Grill use Canola oil, which has no trans-fat. This oil is used on everything fried in the Panorama Grill, according to Murrell.
Some of the healthy foods they have on campus do cost more than other items.
The salads offered at the Renegades Food Court cost $7 for the big box or $3 for the smallest size. The fruit cost just about $4 for the smallest box depending on which kind of fruit students choose and bottled water or any drink beside soda range from $1.69 to $3.50.
Deli sandwiches can be purchased at the Renegades Food Court and range in prices depending on what is put on the sandwich and if you want half or the whole thing, a combo can cost up to $7.
They do have baked chips on campus that are a healthy on-the-go snacks, but those are only sold during food court hours.
Karen Alcanzar said, “it’s ridiculous, I think, because the only healthy food here costs so much. A single banana should not cost a dollar and a water bottle should not cost nearly $2, that’s just ridiculous. And let’s not talk about the salads.”
The issue with healthy food on campus is more about being affordable than not having options.
Amanda Villalobos suggests that there should be more food given in the small salads and fruit so it would be worth the price.
“We would all be really happy when we walk into the cafeteria and grab a healthy oatmeal cookie or granola bar and bottled water for $2 on our way to class,” said Linda Ramirez, student.