Photo by Panama City News Harold
Is food a necessity on campus?
Gulf Coast State College used to have multiple areas to get food or a quick bite to eat between class and studying. One big place used to be The Empowerment café which used to be located in the student union east building. It provided well-cooked and tasty food that many students seemed to enjoy. from fried chicken and French fries to burgers. Students could eat and refuel before heading back to classes giving them more energy to work and focus on their studies. closed back at the end of the Fall 2022 semester due to a lack of sales.
What is there now?
Since the unfortunate close of The Empowerment Café students are limited to what they can enjoy on campus. Right next to where the Café used to be is what I would describe as almost a gas station style food mart. With items like coffee, energy drinks, sodas all the way to chips, pre-packages pastries and more. Just about what any person can find at a local gas station. Gulf Coast will also have food trucks appear every so often as another way to enjoy a quick meal but they aren’t there everyday. Students lost a are where they could get food anytime during lunch hours and are now stuck with processed fatty and sugar meal items that don’t have the same effect on improving a students energy and happiness. The food trucks typically are around for a couple of hours and if you miss it you miss it, resulting in many students to either order food from delivery apps which have a upcharge or them driving off campus to get fast food cause they have class within the next hour
Ideas for the future:
With more students coming to Gulf Coast and to help accommodate the students who cant drive or a limited to where they can go, implementing another way to get food on campus could help students have a more enjoyable time waiting between classes and help provide students with healthy meals that can help them focus in their studies.
Interviews:
Eleazar Rodriguez
Zavian Primm
