It’s Wednesday, the busiest day of the week for me. I get up at 4:30 am, drive to Kennett Square for a Jiu Jitsu class from 5:30 to 6:30, get back home at 7:00 and eat breakfast. Then I relax for a little while before I drive to the Cecil campus for Business Law from 9:00 to 11:50. There’s a school newspaper meeting immediately after, and then I rush back to Kennett Square for six hours of art class.

I’m fine with this crazy schedule. I’m young, have the energy to do it, and it’s invigorating. However, it’s absolutely essential to have the proper fuel to run on throughout it all. So, right after Business Law, I skip down the stairs of the Technology Center and head to the cafe to grab a quick bite to eat before the newspaper meeting.

The vibe of the Cafe is warm and friendly. The staff is always smiling. The room feels cozy.

The food is awful.

There’s a variety of potato chips, microwavable mac n’ cheese, an assortment of Lunchables that might be able to fill the stomach of an 8-year-old, and some sandwiches packed into Sharpie-labeled containers. I think I’ve missed the narrow window of time they have hot food available. Already, my enthusiasm for lunch has been curbed, but my stomach demands satisfaction. Gingerly, I choose one of the sandwiches, labeled “turkey.” After paying, I choose a chair outside the Cafe and toss my backpack onto the counter, then open my sandwich.

Instantly, disappointment washes over me. Through the foggy, semi-transparent container, I thought I had seen thin slices of turkey lunch meat, but I was sadly mistaken. Instead, there was a thin slice of provolone cheese masking lumps of disturbingly wet turkey salad. Unfortunately, there was no time to bemoan this sad turn of events, so I ate it quickly (at least the roll tasted okay) and headed to the newspaper meeting, my stomach partially appeased and my taste buds definitely not.

I know that I am not alone in my disappointment with the food options at Cecil College. The options in the Cafe are notoriously awful. I am also aware that the college has heard these complaints and in an effort to answer them, there are often food trucks on campus. However, in our age of instant gratification and a need for convenience, these food trucks are somewhat out of the way, located by the parking lot. For someone on a tight schedule, it makes no sense to leave the Technology Center, already late for the meeting, dash to the front of campus for food, wait several minutes (in the cold) for my food to be prepared, and then dash back. Instead, I accept my fate and consume mushy turkey salad sandwiches, then write this article as a desperate plea for change.

After the meeting, on the way to my art class, I stopped at Wawa and got a roast beef sandwich and a 24-ounce iced caramel mocha coffee. Delicious.