No haute cuisine at Cal Poly, but could it at least be healthy?

Nobody expects haute cuisine at a campus dining hall, but with all the emphasis on good-for-you eating these days, we assumed students would at least be able to grab a healthy bite or two before class.

Not so easy, according to a group of Cal Poly nutrition students who undertook a systematic study of 18 on-campus dining venues.

Students Madison Fishler, Rachel Gipson, Kelly Koyano and Kelsey DeGreef used a standardized assessment called the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey. The study — based on guidelines published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — blew the lid off the perception that Poly is offering students a smorgasbord of healthy choices.

Campus dining venues were rated on a scale of 0 to 97; the survey looked at factors such as types of beverages offered; whether nonfried vegetables and whole-grain items were served; whether special requests were met; and whether healthy choices were more expensive than less healthy foods.

Scores for the 18 eateries ranged from 4 (pathetic!) to 47. What’s more, students found that only 12 percent of entrees and 36 percent of main dish salads qualified as healthy.

So how did the nonprofit Cal Poly Corporation, which operates on-campus dining facilities, react to the study?

It pulled its advertising from Mustang News the day after an article on the study was published, though it (of course) denied it was a retaliatory move.

Here’s how the corporation’s marketing director explained the decision to a Tribune reporter:

“We felt we needed a break in the advertising to provide relevant messaging important to the students.”

One problem with that: You can’t eat relevant messaging.

Students don’t need a new PR campaign. They need healthier foods, and it shouldn’t require a wake-up call from nutrition students or a dining master plan or a campus forum to recognize that.

Of all college campuses, Cal Poly should be a model for healthy eating. Not only is it an ag school that grows and processes a variety of foods, but it also has a Food Science and Nutrition Department that promotes “eating for wellness.”

On-campus dining facilities should reflect that philosophy.

Until they do, we’re recommending a steady diet of greasy brickbats for the folks in charge of Campus Dining.

As for the authors of the study, they can help themselves to bouquets of locally sourced fresh fruits and veggies.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 4:43 PM with the headline "No haute cuisine at Cal Poly, but could it at least be healthy?."