Being a vegetarian at Kent State was harder than Lou Barberio thought.

The senior graphic design major practiced vegetarianism for seven months, but the options just weren’t there.

“Unfortunately, it got slightly expensive and time consuming maintaining a vegetarian diet,” he said. “There weren’t a lot of options outside of preparing my own food.”

With an overwhelming amount of requests for vegetarian/vegan foods, Dining Services put together a program at Eastway Café and Prentice Café called “Veggie A-Go-Go” this semester.

“We wanted to get it going last semester,” John Goehler, assistant director of Dining Services, said. “But we just couldn’t get it together in time because some recipes and costs were still in the works.”

After decisions were made, Goehler said some recipes had to be eliminated because of time constraints. Originally, students were going to have to call 20 minutes ahead of time because all vegetarian/vegan items are made to order.

“At Eastway and Prentice, they’re dealing with what’s happening in the unit then,” he said. “You have to stop what you’re doing and make this one thing.”

So, Goehler decided to have students call one hour ahead of time in order to accommodate to the busy times and eliminate wasted food.

Kent State Dining Services has two food committees: regular and lifestyles. The lifestyles food committee consists of vegetarians and vegans who go out to all the units and evaluate what is being made.

Goehler said the vegetarian buzz started around six years ago, and in the past couple of years, the vegan diet has been more prominent.

Although Barberio is no longer a practicing vegetarian, he chose to be one for a variety of reasons.

“First off it’s much healthier,” Barberio said. “Second, the conditions which most animals are kept and slaughtered in are just terrible and something I’d rather not support.”

Each practicing vegetarian/vegan may have his or her own reasons, but with the options dining services has started to provide, everyone has choices.

“Over the years we’ve evolved into more people telling us our choices (for vegetarian/vegan food) weren’t very good at all,” Goehler said. “This program is one way to alleviate that problem.”

Before the program, there were few vegetarian items available. Now, even Autumn Piller, marketing manager for Dining Services, said she enjoys multiple items on the menu, and she isn’t a practicing vegetarian.

Dining Services has only received about 10 orders since this school semester started. A popular item is the Granny Smith grilled cheese sandwich.

The menu was put together by Jill Schaffer, a cook with Dining Services. A menu can be found for both dining locations online at www.kentstatedining.com.

Contact room and board reporter Samantha Worgull

at [email protected].

Vegetarian menus around Kent State

PRENTICE CAFÉ MENU

(330) 672-2687

Vegetarian

• Vegetarian Manicotti with Marinara $5.99:

Pasta tubes filled with ricotta cheese and topped with marinara

• Sloppy Joe Sandwich $3.99:

Vegetable burger crumbles, onion and green pepper simmered in marinara sauce, served on a bun

• Vegetarian Flat Bread Pizza $5.19

Vegan

• Buffalo Tofu Flat Bread Wrap $6.49

• Ratatouille $1.99:

A vegetable stew of eggplant, onions, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes, seasoned with garlic and basil

• Sauteed Garlic Mushrooms $2.49:

Mushrooms, garlic and red onion sauteed in olive oil, seasoned with lemon juice and thyme

EASTWAY CAFÉ MENU

(330) 672-8901

Vegetarian

• Granny Smith Grilled Cheese Sandwich $4.49

• Vegetarian Meat Loaf $4.59:

A golden brown loaf made from veggie burger crumbles, cheddar cheese, with a sweet tomato topping

• Alpine Chicken Casserole $4.99:

Diced vegan chicken, garden vegetables and rich cheddar cheese sauce baked into a golden brown casserole

Vegan

• Vegan Stuffed Green Pepper $6.49:

Baked green pepper halves stuffed with seasoned veggie crumbles and rice, tomato herb sauce on side

• Colache $2.49:

Traditional tomato, zucchini, squash and corn side dish

• Vegan Napoleon Stacker $6.99:

Vegan napoleon with portobello mushroom, eggplant, peppers, zucchini and yellow squash

Vegetarian stuffed peppers recipe

1 (16 oz.) can pinto beans

1/2 c. wheat flour

1/2 stick (1/4 c.) butter

4 c. cooked white rice

2 (8 oz.) cans tomato paste

2 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. honey

6 green peppers

Combine the rice, tomato paste, oregano, basil and cayenne pepper. Remove tops and insides of peppers. Fill peppers 2/3 full with rice mixture. Melt butter in a skillet, add flour and honey and cook until thickened. Add the beans and let cook for two or three minutes. Fill remainder of peppers with the bean mixture.

-Autumn Piller

Marketing-KSU Dining

330-672-5361