Parents always tell their kids to make sure to eat a balanced meal. They try to persuade them with phrases like, ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day!’ and ‘eat your fruits and vegetables! You need them to live!’ Their wise words of wisdom weren’t just to support healthy muscles and bones; their encouragement for healthy food is to support your grades.

Moorpark College has just about everything that their students would need to succeed in their classes, except for providing fresh, hot meals. The last time that Moorpark College provided hot meals in the cafeteria was in May 2012. Now we are talking about bringing food trucks to campus.

Having a nutritious meals has always been important to me through out my college career. I have always found that when I have had a good, hot meal and a full night’s sleep, I remember test material better.

The reason that the cafeteria was closed in 2012 was stated that it did not financially sustain itself because students were not using its resources. This led to a dispute between the cafeteria employees and the college as the employees lost their jobs.

Wyatt Pilcher, a second semester Business Management student at Moorpark, has been interning at the college doing student analysis. Pilcher has been working on his research through out his semesters at MC.

The issue with the old cafeteria employee contract is still slightly unclear to me, but Pilcher mentioned that if the cafeteria is reinstated, the contract states that the same company that the cafeteria employees were originally hired through would be used to hire employees again.

The food trucks will not use same kind of contract, according to Dr. Luis Sanchez, the president of Moorpark College. The food trucks would be on an independent contract, which means that they would not be employees of the college.

“One of the hurdles that we have to overcome is to make sure that there are no legal impediments to this, but my understanding and belief, and my background in law, is it’s a viable option,” said Sanchez.

Pilcher has spoken with Sanchez about the cafeteria, and Pilcher said that Sanchez wants hot food on campus, but he does not have the power to reinstate the cafeteria. Instead, Sanchez and Jamillah Moore, Ed.D Chancellor of the Ventura County Community College are working on bringing food trucks to campus for next semester, according to Pilcher.

“It [the food trucks] is not the long-term solution, it is a short-term solution,” said Sanchez. “It is just better than vending machines, it would be great if at least one of the vendors who bid on the project would provide some healthy alternatives.”

While there are restaurants near campus, they are inconvenient. The distance and time is an issue as students either have to walk down the hill or drive to the restaurants, forcing them to manage time to walk, wait for their food, etc., or risk losing their parking spot by driving. If students only have an hour between classes, their time should not be spent worrying if they will make it back in time for class.

“We all want to have hot food serves on campus,” said Sanchez. “It’s not only from the stand point of convenience, not only from the stand point of better nutrition for students and employees, but it’s a safety issue as well. I don’t want students to have to travel some where in order to eat their lunch and then have to travel back to campus. I want them to be able to get it right here.”

I have struggled to pack adequate to-go meals for myself for the days I am on campus, and on those days were I forgot to pack a meal, I suffered greatly as I was forced to buy a vending machine meal.

“The food trucks are a band aid to the bigger problem,” said Pilcher. “But they are a step in the right direction.”

I have to agree. The food trucks are a great idea, as the current options on campus are grossly inappropriate.

In the long run, a permanent solution will be needed. The food trucks can be a great solution, for the time being.