In need of a coffee, a bagel, a salad or a sandwich? Salisbury University’s quick and convenient grab-and-go satellite dining locations have got you covered. How about peanut butter, a loaf of bread, toilet paper or a gallon of milk? Those simple items may not be quite so easy to find, at least on campus. Though SU offers a variety of ready-made food to students that can be purchased with Dining Dollars, there is a lack of basic groceries and toiletries available to students on campus.
Junior Lauren Ruffaner agrees that the campus lacks access to basic necessities, especially since as a transfer student, a convenience store was something she had access to at her previous college.
“The most they give you is like, beverages and candy and salad maybe once in a while, pretty much basics. I actually transferred from a different school in North Carolina, and they actually had more of a convenience store, like [a] gas station kind of [store], and I actually said that they should have one of those here. It offered frozen foods and bread and just things that you would actually need,” Ruffaner stated.
Because of the lack of access students have to basic necessities on campus, many students agree that a convenience-type store, such as the one mentioned by Ruffaner, would be a beneficial addition to Salisbury University. Students agree that such a store wouldn’t need to be an entire grocery store, but instead could offer a few different food items as well as toiletries and medicines.
When asked what such a store should sell, Julia LaDuca, a sophomore, stated, “Basic necessities like milk [and] eggs. Toilet paper I think would be a big one, [and] toiletries like shampoos and soaps. It doesn’t have to have tons of groceries, but it’d be nice to have, like, snack items and a few necessities, so you don’t have to go to Walmart every time you run out of one thing.”
One main reason that a convenience-type store would benefit students is due to the lack of transportation that many students have, which prevents them from being able to get to Walmart or a grocery store easily. LaDuca is one student who struggled with not having a car on campus her freshman year.
“This year, I have a car on campus with me, so I can go when I need to, which is nice, but last year I didn’t have a car on campus, which was a huge pain because I had to get someone to drive me, which means you have to coordinate with someone else, and it’s not always convenient,” LaDuca stated.
If such a store were put on campus, students agree that being able to use Dining Dollars at it would be most beneficial, especially because many students with one of the larger meal plans do not end up using all their Dining Dollars.
“Especially with the meal plan, I think people get, like, $500 for a certain meal plan, and that’s enough to get groceries or things like that,” junior Ashley Olortegui stated.
While Salisbury University does an excellent job with offering quick grab-and-go meals and snacks, the lack of basic groceries and toiletries that are available on campus needs to be addressed. By adding a store that sold such items, students both with and without a car would have easy access to all the items they need to feel right at home on campus.
By LAURA AMRHEIN
Staff writer
Featured photo by Pixabay/kc0uvb.
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