Walking through the dining halls on campus, students have many food options.
But, what some students think is lacking is a larger array of healthy foods to choose from.
There are plenty of pre-packaged fruits and even less common ones like star fruits, but some students say there is a need for more options of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Roommates Selena Webb and Lexi Benakovich started a petition to get students interested — and to send the idea to the Student Government Association. The petition says if it garnered more than 200 signatures, they would be able to submit a bill to SGA.
Click here to sign the petition.
“[Benakovich] came up to me on [Feb. 3] at our hall council meeting and said, 'You know, I had this idea. I want more fruits and veggies on campus,'" said Jake Peterson, an SGA senator. "I told her, 'I know how this system works, and you need sponsors.' A sponsor is just like a petition, but it goes on the bill. I said 50 to 100 signatures and I will write [the bill]."
Webb and Benakovich got the needed signatures to send the idea to SGA almost immediately.
“It wasn’t maybe an hour later when they were like, 'We got 50,' and I was like, 'Okay, go get 100,' and then they said, 'We got 100,'" Peterson said. "I said, 'Are you kidding me? It's 11:30 [p.m.] on a Wednesday.'”
The bill will continue to be updated with signatures as they come — at the time of print, there were more than 600.
As signatures keep coming in, the trio hopes the large following behind the movement will help get the bill passed.
Webb said it was great to be able to spark this initiative in the student body and see that people agree with her and Benakovich.
“This would give people the choice to have healthy options," Benakovich said. "It could help students with the whole ‘feel good, do good.’ Maybe grades would even improve. It's like a domino effect."
Peterson said from there, the bill will be sent to an agenda committee run by the vice president of SGA, and they will run an agenda meeting to decide if it will be on the agenda for the next week.
Peterson said he hopes the bill will get voted yes there, so it can move onto the meeting on Feb. 10. If it does go on the floor at that meeting, Peterson said he encourages anyone to come in support.
“We have options, we have good options, but why not keep expanding?” Peterson said. “We're not trying to revolt against dining or anything. We're just saying, ‘Hey, we’d like to see some more peaches out there.'”
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