Issue date: 10/14/08 Section: Forum

No eating fresh at game

I've never been a fan of the Ryan Field hot dogs. Freshly prepared in a cellophane bag. Freshly stored in a cardboard box behind the concession stand. For $3, there has to be a better bang for your buck.

I found that bang before Saturday's game against Michigan State. Subway's daily 6-inch special roast beef sandwich came out to a Dow Jones all-time Saturday meal low of $2.69. For the first time in 19 career trips to Ryan Field, I was set to consume a vegetable.

In an instant, that dream was taken away from me. My parents were in town, and we had seats in one of the regular sections. As the officials checked my mom's bag, I realized that the stadium has a policy of no outside food.

It's an odd policy, especially since the options inside are scarce at best. Nor did I have patience for the line at Mustard's Last Stand. My parents and I were civil enough to avoid the battle with the greasy-food brass, who had confiscated our sandwiches.

I sat lunchless, watching a listless performance by the Cats. If you look around campus, there are plenty of household food names willing to invest in a spot to serve food better than those plastic bag death dogs. I'd choose Einstein Bagels or Sbarro at Ryan Field over an empty stomach any day.

If you're a fan paying $50 for a ticket, or a student paying $50,000 a year for that "free WildCARD entry," shouldn't you at least have the right to eat fresh?

-CHRIS GENTILVISO
Deputy Sports Editor



C-Store food far too costly

I like food. I like most everything about food. Making it, eating it, serving it, sharing it... I especially love eating lots of food.

The one problem with buying lots of food is the price. Over the summer, prices went up. That's why I was dreading the prices at the C-stores around campus.

If you haven't noticed, the prices seem to be a little inflated. This, in itself, wouldn't be such a problem if there were another option. But for those of us who spend much of our time at Norris, we don't really have the option to make our own food or travel to downtown Evanston.

As I said earlier, I like food - and lots of it. That's why I'm a fan of cheap food. This summer I became a huge fan of Totinos pizza. These are the smaller pizzas: The crust looks like cardboard, but the taste is good. Good for $1.

When I arrived on campus and made my first visit to the C-store, I was surprised to find my favorite pizzas sitting on a shelf. I noticed there was no price, so I thought nothing of grabbing it to save it for a meal later that weekend.

I walked up to the counter. To my surprise, it cost $3.39 - over three times the price I had paid only a few weeks before.

To increase my C-store woes, this year the store is stocked with organic foods - which are grossly overpriced as well.

This is unacceptable. The overinflated prices on milk, yogurt, and other fresh foods make me dread every trip to the C-store. Is it too much to ask to have competitive prices on things we can't do without?

-TREVOR SEELA
Design Editor

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools