Ecosoc Proposal for Healthier Food

Last week Ecosoc announced an initiative to expand the range of food available on campus with the launch of a petition to allow for market traders to sell freshly prepared hot meals on campus on a weekly basis. Peter Moran, treasurer of Ecosoc outlined the proposal: "We are trying to bring a limited amount of food vendors from the Saturday market to come to the college to provide affordable, healthy vegetarian food. We want to raise the quality of food and to raise awareness of the issues related to food in the modern age. Also we want to make a positive contribution to the university".

Currently, while vegetarian options are available to students, many feel that the choice is not adequate. "There is a unanimous demand for this. Iv spoken to both students and staff who are crying out for a wider selection of healthy food. The Students Union support this along with a list of societies who have said they are behind us." Market food vendors have been present on campus on past Healthy Living weeks and Ecosoc aim to expand on these previous accomplishments. "The last time the vendors were here it was a great success, people had a good time and there was a great local and traditional vibe around college". Over the course of the day 480 students signed a petition expressing that they would welcome the future return of the market vendors.

The organisation of a weekly market cannot be without difficulties but Ecosoc remain confident they will overcome any problems. "Hopefully the idea is that we properly co-ordinate it with the Buildings Office and the Students Union so that it is set up in a way that it will be self maintaining once basic issues such as parking and timetables are dealt with. We know there might be problems, just like with any endeavour, but we are satisfied that we will be able to pre-emptively accommodate for them. Projects like this have worked in other colleges, why not here?"

This initiative is a non-confrontational attempt to improve conditions in the college for all students. "We are not condemning the quality of food in the college, we are just highlighting the fact that there is a demand for another alternative selection of food. There is a diverse range of students here and the food available should reflect that. This can only be a good thing."
"Running a weekly local food market is something I’m very excited about and I feel it will add a lot of character and atmosphere to the campus. The Saturday market is a colourful and traditional fixture in Galway, which creates a really positive impression and we should be proud to have it once a week in Galway." Ecosoc will be running an online petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/foodnuig/petition.html until mid February when an application will be made to the Buildings Office.