Student Center provides new healthy choices

The Green Market Bistro, located in EMU’s Student Center, specializes in vegetarian and ethnic foods.

Eastern Michigan University is opening the Green Market Bistro this fall in the first floor food court of the Student Center. The Bistro will cater to vegetarian students, offering ethnic, European and American selections of vegetarian entrees, salads made-to-order and green tea-based smoothies.

EMU’s Executive Chef Tom Murray, one of the masterminds behind the Green Market Bistro, worked with campus nutrition services after two years of questions and complaints about the lack of healthy food on campus.

The Green Market Bistro is very in tune with the concerns of the vegetarian students they are catering to. Not only are entrées to be served in environmentally safe containers, but the Bistro has also hired numerous vegetarian and vegan students to work behind the counter.

“The people producing the food are the people who will be eating it,” Murray said.

There are a number of different reasons individuals choose to start the vegetarian diet, including health, environmental and economic reasons.

EMU junior philosophy major Kassandra David is new to the life of a strict vegan, avoiding animal food products for both animal rights and human welfare reasons. Even though she says she has never had a huge problem eating on campus, she is excited about the new choices that will be offered at the Green Market Bistro.

“Having a vegetarian shop on campus means I won’t have to read labels and constantly ask questions about ingredients. I feel like it’s really welcoming towards people with specific diet needs,” David said.

EMU student Maxwell Czerniawski, a veteran to the vegan lifestyle, said the Bistro will be very convenient. He has been an active vegan since the eighth grade but has not always had positive eating experiences on campus.

“In previous years, I’ve been relegated to Einstein Brothers for breakfast and Healthy Stop for dinner nearly every day. Provided the Green Market Bistro presents a wide diversity of vegan options, it would certainly increase my quality of life on campus,” he said.

While Czerniawski says he sticks to the vegan diet for animal welfare, environmental and economic reasons, he is still aware of the positive health effects that can come from vegetarian and vegan diets.

“Having strict dietary laws forces you to be more aware of the foods you consume because you’re always reading labels to see what you can and can’t eat. I was shocked to find how unhealthy some of things I had been eating for years were,” he said.

According to the American Heart Association, there are many different types or levels of vegetarian diets. The total vegetarian diet or the vegan diet consists of foods from plants, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes (dried beans and peas), grains, seeds and nuts and excludes all meat, eggs, fish and dairy products. The semi-vegetarian diet only excludes red meat.

Chef Murray said the entrees, soups, sandwiches, stir-fries and salads served at the Bistro will be compliant to the vegan diet. The menu will also include gluten-free products.

EMU sophomore and biology major Heather Duncan is a frequent visitor to the Student Center and, even though she is a non-vegetarian student, she likes the idea of having healthier choices available.

“I think it is a good idea, considering there is almost nothing but fast food. It is definitely a step in the right direction,” Duncan said.

Even for non-vegetarian students, eating on campus is mostly limited to fast food and snacks, such as chips and candy. Students need more diverse options away from the everyday grab-and-go salad. Each day at the Green Market Bistro students will have a choice of two soups, stir fry, sandwiches, salads and different entrees.

Even the salads served at the new Green Market Bistro are “a step up from tossed salads and Greek salads,” Murray said, adding that not only are the food options offered at the Bistro healthier and more convenient for vegetarian and vegan students, but the cost of the food is also “extremely reasonable” and fits campus meal plans.

This jump into healthier food options at EMU is just the beginning for students to get proper nutrition on campus. It is a major convenience for all students but especially the number of vegetarian and vegan students who have had negative eating experiences while at EMU.