It may not be a challenge of epic portions, but "Un-Supersize Me AU: The Dining Hall Challenge" could change the way students look at food on campus.
Campus Recreation Nutrition and Tiger Dining have come together for the challenge that includes eating nothing except on-campus food for one week.
Jessica-Lauren Roberts, Campus Recreation Nutrition's registered dietitian, and Eric Smith, director of health promotion and wellness services, came up with the culinary challenge and decided to take it on themselves.
"Jessica-Lauren and I had the opportunity to go on a dining hall tour about a month ago," Smith said. "We were really impressed with not only the variety, but some of the healthy options there also.
"We were on the dining hall tour, and I basically said, 'Wouldn't it be neat if we could eat for a week like college students and see what it's really like?' It dawned on me, I blurted it out and (Tiger Dining Executive Chef Emil Topel) said he loved the idea."
Roberts began the challenge Nov. 5, and Smith followed Nov. 8.
They plan to explore as many options as possible while seeking the healthiest choices.
Smith and Roberts are documenting every meal they eat, and after the challenge nutrition students will evaluate their results.
They will also check to see if the cost and availability of Auburn's food options fit into a student's budget and schedule.
The pair is tweeting thoughts about their meals, pictures and any questions that arise during the food selection process.
The Tiger Dining team tweets back responses.
"I'm the one sitting on the other end of the Twitter answering the questions," said Gina Groome, marketing director for Tiger Dining. "If I don't know the answer, I shoot an email to our chef, and he answers the question."
The tweets can be found under the hashtag "UnsupersizeMeAU."
Roberts and Smith have found there is more nutritious variety in on-campus food than students think. Roberts insists that if students are willing to put in a little effort, good options are there.
"If I can make it a point to weave around campus and choose different things, considering I'm not a student and don't live on campus, then it's really not that difficult," Roberts said.
If students want to find the best options for them, part of this effort must include planning.
"They need to be willing to pull up the menus," Roberts said. "It's a lot about looking and planning ahead for yourself. That doesn't mean you have to know everything you're going to eat for the next seven days, but it can't hurt to look at it the night before or two hours before."
The synopsis of the challenge will be posted on the Auburn Health and Wellness blog for students to read within the next two weeks.
Roberts and Smith will make recommendations to Tiger Dining regarding any of their negative experiences, and they said Topel intends to use their feedback to better serve students.
"We're working with Gina Groome and senior chef Emil Topel, and they're very anxious to see what we have to say so they can improve their services," Smith said. "They've definitely opened their arms wide open and let us in."
Roberts and Smith hope this challenge will change the way students feel about on-campus food and open their eyes to the healthy options around them.
"Education is power, so if they know what type of food is available to them, then hopefully they can make better choices," Roberts said.
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