Ignacio Pacheco, a 20-year old goalie on the Mercer Men’s soccer team, is tasked with diverting the ball from the net. While in a practice game, his stomach starts to rumble.
He usually has his breakfast before getting on the bus, taking his classes, and working out before his training. But today, his morning meal-prepping time was limited. He’s looking at the clock wondering when training will be over and he can grab a meal, but stops himself considering his options for nutrition.
When asked how he nourishes himself at school Pacheco says, “There’s not as many options”.
He says that’s part of why his diet consists primarily of food from the grocery store that he cooks at home.
It is not an uncommon thing for athletes and the student body to say they have difficulty finding nutritious food options on campus.
Maria Eduarda Olindino, a former women’s soccer player and Architecture major still prefers food from home, especially after explaining that sometimes, the food in the Mercer cafeteria has caused her to feel sick afterwards.
Olindino adds, “Sometimes I can find things, but I usually eat from home.”
Dartmouth Sports, Dartmouth College’s Athletics program, says that the typical college athlete needs to consume 20-30 percent of their diet in protein, 45-65 percent of their diet in carbs, 15-25 percent in lipid fats, and maintain 2-3 Liters of water.
Out of the 67 students surveyed at Mercer, 64 percent answered that their dietary needs were met at an average or below-average level.
Survey participants said they felt they would benefit from more low-carb, keto friendly, and halal meat for Muslim students, meaning that the meat has been produced with a method known as dhabiha, when the blood is completely drained from the meat. Some students expressed a desire for house made salads and sandwiches that they did not appear to know were already available.
Chef Ricky Martinez Jones, the MCCC Cafeteria chef since December of 2022, says, “As long as we’re open the Deli’s open, we have salads that you can create yourself, sometimes we even have fruit in there.”
The results of the aforementioned survey imply that not all students are unaware of the fresh deli food options.
Pacheco says, “Sometimes there are little salads available, but I think that for the guys that do sports, I think in general it’s not enough. You have to buy two or three.”
Although these options present the ability for students to nourish their bodies, surveys indicated that students who have dietary restrictions would benefit from calorie counts. In the MCCC cafeteria, the only menu that does provide calorie counts is the “Breakfast your way.”
Some student athletes mentioned that not only was the MCCC cafeteria not a place where they could find food that benefited them, or a place where they could keep track of their macronutrients and caloric intake, but that the food available was also too expensive for them.
Joao Lourenco, a 2nd year Exercise Science student and MCCC Men’s Soccer defense player, says he wants to see lower prices in the MCCC Cafeteria.
Many items such as the Meat, Egg & Cheese Bagel sandwich cost around $4.50, slightly more than Wawa’s similar item the Bacon, Egg & Cheese Sizzli Bagel which costs around $4.00.
However, Jones says that the MCCC Cafeteria works to restore protein to the student body’s diets. He says, “We grill chicken by hand everyday as a replacement for the protein [from deli meat].”
While the Mercer Cafeteria says they are doing their part, there is still a feeling amongst the athlete population and their coaches that they aren’t.
Widmarc Dalce, the current Men’s Soccer coach since 2012 and former MCCC athlete in the 96’ and 97’ seasons, has a different outlook on the Mercer Cafeteria.
He says, “On campus, I don’t think we have that, [a place for athletes to find nutritious food] available yet, but we always preach to them to just try to eat healthy.”
Jones adds, “We try our hardest to make sure that there’s an option that can be customizable for everybody so that you can just kinda create whatever salad, whatever sandwich you want, to be as healthy as you possibly can make it.”
He says, “We can’t be the Whole Foods of the school.”
