A Joy-ous Meal

Howdy again! It’s CJ! I’m just writing a brief intro to introduce today’s blogger, Joy!
I've been learning so much from all of the comments, and I hope to get to reply to some of them soon. I hope I haven’t disappointed thus far. I do think the context post has sparked a really nice conversation. We’re just trying to cover a really wide variety of options available to students. Joy has lived on campus for several years, whereas I only lived on it my first year, so she offers some nice insight to how our dining plans work.
Also, just so you know a bit more about us, I’m working on a second master’s degree in Communication Studies and Arts/Non-profit Administration. I also have a Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Arts from Texas Tech. Joy is also studying Communication Studies and has a bachelor’s degree and will soon have a master’s degree from Tech. We both love “Raiderland”!!!
I know there are fellow “Red Raiders” all over the world, so I did want to offer a nod to the writer from Nairobi, a fellow Tech grad!
Now, without further ado, here’s Joy!

Today’s lunch:

I feel that having been a student at Texas Tech University for six years and having lived on campus for at least four of those years that further explanation must be given for pricing and content of food choices available.

Each residence hall or dormitory has a dining hall that accompanies it. Some of the food choices are cafeteria style, some are more along the lines of fast food, and still others are available so that an individual may tailor his/her food choices to suit dietary needs (or satisfy a picky eater). The contents of some food choices on campus that are usually ready to eat are also usually very high in salt, sugar, and fat which may be a partial attribution to the “freshman fifteen” (or more). There are lots of food choices, both good and bad available, but when students enter college some of them do not always make the best choices and it can be difficult to navigate all of the available options to make the best choice. There are informational sheets available that explain many eating options and ways to make better choices which may be helpful to the students if used properly. Additionally, a vast majority of the food is priced for students who purchase dining plans with their housing so that it is all inclusive. The monetary value of the dining plan is stored on the student’s identification card much like a credit card. The students who live in the dining hall usually do not pay attention to how much the food costs since it is “paid for anyway” they just get what they want, swipe their card, and leave. For those who purchase food and do not have student dining plans the food costs even more because the student discount is not applied and the food is usually increased in price out of convenience and other costs that go into preparing it.

Today I really wanted to go to my favorite custom salad place and order the 4-day salad. I call it that because the amount of salad that I receive usually is enough to last me for one meal (lunch or dinner) for four days. The salad is custom made and usually is purchased by the pound, but due to a summer camp, the salad place is temporarily closed and an “All you can eat” food center is now in its place. So I walked over to another one of my favorite places and ordered a custom made Wok instead.

The Wok portion of the meal is a custom made dish that is prepared from ingredients that are selected by the patron and then cooked in front of you to ensure quality and freshness of the meal. A patron can choose to either have their food cooked in oil or steamed in water. I chose to have my order steamed so I ordered my favorite Wok which consists of: steamed rice, water chestnuts, broccoli heads, chicken breast, red onion, chopped celery, sliced mushroom, and a little bit of soy sauce for seasoning. I also received a complimentary fortune cookie with my order. I purchased a bottle of green tea and a bottle of water in addition to an apple. The chopsticks are used to monitor the amount of food eaten in a bite. This creates an awareness of food instead of just shoveling it in with a fork or spoon.

Food-o-meter: 6/10 (not sure how this works so rating is on the safe side)
Mouthfuls: I forgot to count (Sorry, I’m not used to counting mouthfuls.) I can tell you that there was enough food there to last for both lunch and dinner so it was almost like getting two meals for the price of one.
Courses: Main
Price: $10.23 £6.5434
Pieces of hair: 0
Guns Up: 1.5

CJ, here to sign off! This looked really yummy to me. I see there is even a fortune cookie. I think that’s an American thing. Y’all have a great day!

Veg's Dad here

It's late in the UK and when I say VEG is asleep in the tent what I mean is she's reading by torchlight and thinks I don't know! I just wanted to say how wonderful it is that Dave Brown commented on your post with the news that he and his employer have got together and donated £200 to Mary's Meals. That takes the NeverSeconds JustGiving page past £112,000, thanks Dave! At £10.70 to provide a Mary's Meal for a year to a child it means Dave's generosity along with his employers will offer a school lunch to 18 children for a whole year. That's incredible. Thanks Dave for the donation and thanks CJ and Joy for blogging.

Let's not forget how little it takes to make a difference, £10.70 a year. The cost of Joy's meal today would have meant a school dinner for a child for 7 months.