This past weekend I drove two and half hours to see one of my good friends who attends University of Delaware. Aside from the excitement of seeing a friend who has been gone for a month, I was amazed by the campus at University of Delaware. Specifically, I was intrigued by the amount of places there were to eat. Every where you turned there was a different place to get food. Every building had at least one vending machine on each floor, the library had a cafe and restaurant area, another building had Dunkin Donuts and a Mexican take out establishment, the bookstore had snacks and Starbucks and, in addition, there were two dining halls. Food was the focal point of almost every building on the campus.Not only was the campus bombarded with food, but as we proceeded into the town down Main Street, I was astonished as to how many restaurants were on this one street. Looking for a place to eat lunch was such a difficult task with almost fifteen places to choose from in just plain sight.
After seeing the abundance of food choices, I was in awe and began thinking about why there would be so many food places for one college town. Granted, there are thousands of students that attend the University of Delaware but I occurred to me that these college towns, especially food providers, realized the demand of college students, always looking for a quick bite to eat. In the same way, many students may also have fixed incomes, so it is common for students to be frugal with their money. The food providers catered to this as well with food prices and deals that were very reasonable. They also acted on this notion and significantly lowered the prices, to a certain extent, making it easy for college students on a fixed budget to afford eating out at these delicious restaurants on Main Street.
According to The Douglas Steward Company article The Purchasing Power of College Students, the top way students spend their money is on food. Students are more willing to spend their incomes on food than any other product not only for its source of energy and to satisfy their hunger, but for social means. Food providers have become meeting spots and places to host events and gatherings. It is evident to understand why food providers have become a focal point of this college town because of the high demand of consumers, which are the college students, that throw all their income on food.
I also realized that each sign acted as a food cue and even if you just ate, when you walked into every building, food was staring right at you, tempting you to indulge in it. My friend and I laughed at how easy it was to fall into the “Freshman Fifteen”. However, after reading Why The “Freshman 15” Is A Lie, I realized this idea is a myth. Although many college students do tend to gain weight upon entering college until graduation, fifteen pounds is exaggerated. Women tend to gain seven to nine pounds over the four years and men gain about 12 to 13. So for all my fellow college students who are worrying about falling into the “Freshman Fifteen”, be thankful we do not have as many option as Delaware at Wagner, but also be mindful that this idea is a myth.
