By Jaden DeFazio
Contributing Writer

A KU student approached the Student Government Board at a recent meeting to raise concerns about vegan and vegetarian options on campus.

This prompted a 10-minute discussion about concerns and solutions on the issue in which the board decided to bring the subject up at the next Food Advisory Board meeting in the South Dining Hall.

The student, sophomore LeAnn Heredia, spoke up at the board’s Oct. 17 meeting and raisedthe issue of lack of variety for meals on campus that cater to vegan and vegetarian students.

She noted that students most often resort to eating the same thing every day.

Heredia commented specifically on the Cub Café’s section for vegans and vegetarians, saying, “If I go there at 3 p.m. for instance, [the food] sits out and looks gross and I don’t even want to eat it.” She also said that she has a hard time finding food she can eat, despite the existence of a vegetarian section.

There is also an issue with vegan/vegetarian dishes having meat in them, according to some students.

“One time there was soup said to be vegetarian, but it actually had meat in it,” said Rebecca Cantor, a KU junior and SGB’s chair of Academic Affairs.

Heredia also said she has had multiple experiences with receiving food with meat in it. “Twice, with the stir-fry,” she said. “I asked for tofu with vegetables, but the vegetables are so close to the meat that they got mixed in and I chewed on the meat then had to spit it out.”

Board members said that in the past, Aramark, the company that provides food services on campus, had ideas in the works for a restaurant-style section of Dixon Marketplace, where vegans and vegetarians would have more options, but they eventually backed out of the deal, saying that it would not generate enough revenue.

Some board members considered reopening the idea of a restaurant-style section of Dixon Marketplace with Aramark. They also suggested bringing up concerns at the South Dining Hall’s next Food Advisory Board meeting, which was their ultimate decision.

One member of the board mentioned that if students specifically ask dining hall staff to make a meal vegan or vegetarian, they would.

SGB meetings are held at 5 p.m. every Tuesday in the formal dining room of the McFarland Student Union Building.