A hungry vegan can usually find a few vegan options in the Bellarmine cafeteria, and most are just snacks: Lara Bars, Oreos, bananas, apples, noodles, fruity beverages, non-dairy milks, and—the beloved outlier—a peanut noodle dish. But are those really enough to sustain plant-based teens?

Elyse McKenna, a fully vegan member of the Bellarmine Class of ‘23, gave up beef nine years ago, then went vegetarian in 2019, and fully vegan in 2020. She has spent just over two full school years at Bellarmine as a vegan.

When asked about her opinion on the Bellarmine cafeteria’s vegan options, McKenna stated, “Well, I don’t think [the Bellarmine cafeteria] does a good job at all. I mean, there is one option that I’ve seen that is semi-consistent.”

McKenna noticed that most plant-based cafeteria offerings are “snacks, but [she’s] never seen any vegan hot meals, salads, or pastries.” Her observation is reflected in the breakfast and lunch menus planned for the week of Oct. 10: 

McKenna claimed that “there’s a lot of people [at Bellarmine] who don’t eat meat or would consider getting a vegan option.” She had a few ideas for how the cafeteria could improve its vegan offerings, ranging from “a cookie option” that could be “quite popular” to “any semi-consistent hot meal option.”

On another note, McKenna remarked that “when [she] went on Encounter there was a vegan option for [her], and the same for Senior Pilgrimage, so that was good.” At Bellarmine’s Homecoming on  Oct. 7, a table offered vegan cookies, and homecoming week of 2021 saw vegan donuts. Elyse added that food was “better on retreats” than at school, and the same went for Bellarmine-sponsored events.

So, while Bellarmine offers vegan snack foods, it lacks a consistent vegan hot meal, and never provides a vegan breakfast option. Is this enough for Bellarmine vegans?