Struggles in Maintaining a Plant-Based Diet on Campus
UT students' struggles might consist of midterms, final essays or projects due at 11:59 p.m. on Canvas.
However, students may also face a different, unique challenge: finding plant-based food on the 431-acre campus.
One thing an observant student might notice, amongst the Drag's abundant food options, is how little produce is available on campus. Introspectively, students on college tours might wonder why the only options available are canned foods bursting out of Orange Mart or the microwavable dinners found at local pop-ups.
Looking at a map of the nearest grocery stores on campus, students following a plant-based diet face prominent challenges. Target usually has Impossible Meat and a few other vegan alternatives, but products often run out and force these students to commute off campus.
Resident halls like Kinsolving and Jester, along with private student housing like The Castilian, have vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options for those with dietary restrictions. Options like the “cajun tofu scramble” for breakfast at Kinsolving and the “lentil and mushroom ragu” are easier to access than making food from scratch. Commuters have the option to purchase meal plans but face unique challenges reaching these dining halls when they live in different areas.
“The options (at The Castilian) were pretty much non-existent,” public health senior Ava Melmed said. “They were advertising that they had options for all diets so I was pretty upset about that. I had to go above the cafeteria’s head, emailing the building's manager to tell them there was nothing for me.”
Melmed said The Castilian offered alternatives to dining halls such as Jester and Kinsolving, but the choices at the on-campus dorms seemed better.
Rabbit Food Grocery was the nearest fully vegan grocery store to the University, located at 2425A Exposition Blvd. Unfortunately, the store closed for unknown reasons July 15, 2023.
“We’ve made the heartbreaking decision to close Rabbit Food Grocery,” owners Jessica Morris and Gabriel Figueroa said in a statement on the store’s Facebook page. “We’ve had a lot of great times over the past 11 years meeting so many amazing people at our store, pop-ups around town, and at ‘vegfests’ in Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston.”
The most significant consequence of an exclusively vegan store like Rabbit Food Grocery closing is that certain high-protein products, like their “Rooted Vegan Lasagna” and their “Herbivorous Butcher vegan meats,” are practically nonexistent in other supermarkets.
The closest H-E-B on 1000 E. 41st St. offers a few items Rabbit Food Grocery formerly had including “Tofurkey” deli meats, pre-made meals and many “accidentally vegan products,” such as french bread. This H-E-B may offer some of the best options for students who own a car, but there’s still a great lack of variety when it comes to the products available overall. A majority of the products available are plant-based meat alternatives, or pre-made Sweet Earth ready meals.
One of the best options for plant-based students is the Wheatsville Co-Op. One of their locations off 3101 Guadalupe St., is a 5-to-10-minute drive from campus and also within walking distance. Offering more than just plant-based products, they feature a range of pre-made foods, vitamin supplements, produce and home goods comparable to Rabbit Food Grocery.
There are downsides to shopping at Wheatsville, though. One of these downsides is that staple products cost much more than their H-E-B counterparts, which can be difficult for the average college student to pay for. The organic shelf-stable product line, Field Day, is sold at Wheatsville and other health-focused grocery stores. The company offers products like canned beans, instant macaroni and cheese, and other non-perishables. While the line’s organic labeling makes the packaging environmentally-friendly, the price of their items is also much higher than those at other supermarkets.
If a student is part of the Wheatsville Co-op ownership program, they can receive an additional 10% off in-store items. For instance, GT's Enlightened Synergy Trilogy Organic Kombucha is offered at H-E-B as well as Wheatsville and is $3.90 at H-E-B. Wheatsville offers this product for $3.00 or $2.70 when you use an owner’s membership. However, students must pay a $15 joining fee plus a $55 investment to be a member.
Generally, resources for plant-based UT students each come with a list of pros and cons. Finding something affordable, walkable and supportive of a fulfilling plant-based diet is challenging. With the recent closure of Rabbit Food Grocery and new infrastructural changes to Guadalupe, an increasing desire for tangible grocery options grows amongst students.
Graphic by Karis Tsao