Fast Food Feud
Article by Avery Duffy
NEWBERG, Ore. – As a current student at George Fox University (GFU) who has lived on campus with a meal plan and purchased groceries while living off campus, I still found myself resorting to fast food on busy nights in both situations.
I knew this wasn’t just me. Common area trash cans are often filled to the brim with pizza boxes, McDonalds bags and plastic cups with fast food labels.
To better understand students’ eating habits while on meal plans, I conducted a survey asking GFU students about their personal meal plan breakdowns, usage of meal swipes, frequency of eating out and why they chose eating out rather than the Bon.
The majority of students responding to the survey stated they had either 14 meals per week (two meals per day) or seven meals per week (one per day). When asked how many of these meal swipes students realistically used per week, the majority stated they went one to three times per week, only utilizing 20% of their available swipes.
Canyon Commons offers three meals per weekday and two meals on weekend days. In an average week, students stated they skipped meals up to 19 times (every meal every day), with most saying they skipped at least one meal per day, if not multiple. Some students said they hadn’t used a single meal swipe all semester, even though GFU is over halfway through their 2026 spring semester.
Meal plans are included with tuition prices that are billed at the beginning of each semester, so if students have already paid for their meal swipes, why are they choosing not to use them?
Reoccurring responses included: the food the Bon is serving doesn’t sound good, inconvenient timing between busy schedules, long lines, an overstimulating cafeteria environment and insufficient options for allergies.
“Multiple times this semester, I have been limited to one dinner option because of my food allergies,” shared an anonymous response. “I usually brush this off but there are only so many times a person can eat the pork spare ribs in a row before they go crazy.”
The most common response was the lack of nutritional meal options or inaccurate nutrition information on the foods being served. Many said they consistently receive food dripping in oil or can't find many protein options. For the price of these meals, non-nutritious foods didn’t seem worth it.
While, as predicted, almost half the responders said fast food was their main alternative source for meals, others said they spent money on groceries to cook their own meals or utilized the Bruin Pantry.
“I make my own food because I know I like it,” said another anonymous source. “It’s a more relaxing experience for me.”
Another responder explained their desire to be healthier, which meant knowing the exact nutrition information in their food. They also stressed the freedom to eat whatever they wanted based on groceries they purchased.
While trash cans likely won’t stay void of fast food logos, it's refreshing to understand that a stereotype about college students exists for many reasons, not just a desire for fast food.
