School Food (was Re: [Sca-cooks] OOP request: Jelliedsalad???) still OOP

[Nick Sasso]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Laura C. Minnick" <lcm at efn.org>
> Not so, Niccolo- the case generally is- the dorm food is awful, let's
order
> pizza!/go to McDonald's/have chips and pop in our room/throw some
Hot
> Pockets-popcorn-LeanCuisine in the microwave mom got us...
>
> Not to mention the gallons of MtDew/Pepsi/lattes/frappuchino etc.
they put
> away during paper and exam season.
>
> Annie OTOH is living on rice and lentils and produce, because it's
all she
> can afford. She's not likely to pick up the Freshman Fifteen.
> 'Lainie

I keep thread alive because the dynamics are so similar to what goes on
in people's minds regarding SCA food . . . medieval food is all bad, as
in the not too distant past letter by the Trimaran Royalty that caused a
Brouhaha.  SO MANY up in arms when it's his/her own "ox in the ditch",
but miss the isomorphic analogy (keen similarity) to this food service
argument.  There are some babies out there displaced from their bath
water, methinks.  Would these same people make the same over sweeping
generalizations about medieval food?

I need, then, from someone an alternative explanation for why the food
at the schools I attended ranged from acceptable to good, was
economical, and had a waiting line for nearly 45 minutes if a student
did not come in the first or last 35 minutes of the service times for a
meal.  If I am "wrong" in my generalization that not all school food is
universally bad, then there needs to be a hypothesis to explain these
apparent anomalies in 4 schools I attended, plus 4 others I visited that
presented satisfactory to excellent food service programs.  Sure, it's
small sample, but my 8 out of 10 schools seems to challenge your
assertions that "dorm food" is generally "awful" . . . then there is the
fact that the schools aren't going bankrupt on food service.

I also need someone to explain why, if college food service is
universally and unarguably awful, the Universities of Georgia and
Georgia Technical Institute have had their food service student and
staff satisfaction survey results published in professional publications
for University professionals in the later 80's and early 90's.  Locally,
in Atlanta, many students publicly laude the food at Agnes Scott
University . . .

The argument continuing to appear is that I cannot possibly be correct
in saying that "all food service food is NOT universally horrendous".  I
accept that there are lots of personal experiences of not liking food at
universities/colleges, or having actual atrocities or health hazards.
Sweeping generalizations either way seem misplaced except that if there
were an epidemic of health and safety issues of the proportions of some
of the anecdote here, I suspect that CNN or some other news organization
would have grabbed it and sensationalized it beyond all recognition
(note Heraldo Rivera and his buds).  I am not hearing anything, from the
people telling me I am flat wrong, that tells us anything to suggest
that food dissatisfaction is related to anything more that adolescent
peccadillo, authority disengagement and cultural indoctrination that is
prevalent in 18 to 20 year olds in so many other venues and
circumstances in the world.  To ignore that simple explanation and claim
nationwide catastrophic epidemic of food atrocities seems a bit
histrionic/melodramatic.  Ohkam's Razor seems to suggest a simpler
reason.

niccolo difrancesco