Hungry students need later food options

State Hornet Staff

The food services at Sacramento State close too early at night considering some students are in class until 10 p.m. and many stay on campus through the night. 

In fact, Burger King, Round Table and the Courtyard Market, which is attached to the American River Courtyard, are the only food services open past 8:30 p.m., but since Sac State is a commuter school and the majority of students spend long hours here, they have to rely on campus food throughout the day. 

Sure, everyone could stand to pack a healthy balanced lunch once in a while, but busy college students sometimes just need some thing quick to get through that midterm. 

One might think it would be more beneficial for the businesses to stay open later. Very few students would turn down a fresh cup of coffee from Eco Grounds for the late night of studying. But it closes at 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. 

Granted, there are more options than some might realize. There’s two markets on campus, including a weekly farmer’s market, and food choices like gyros, pizza, pho, burritos, sushi, sandwiches, soup, salads and more. 

Most people wouldn’t complain if there were a few more eateries on campus, or replaced one of the two Panda Express locations for a Taco Bell or In N Out, but be realistic. What most students would really like to see, is the choices on campus already to be open for night owls. 

Recently, there has been a push toward keeping the library open 24/7. The library is already open until 11 p.m. and the AIRC is open 24 hours. If Sac State is pushing for this, it’s not too much to ask for student’s food needs to be met till a later hour. 

Other college campus eateries are open much later than those at Sac State. At San Francisco State, the Cesar Chavez Student Center restaurants are all open till 10 p.m. Monday through Friday.

A big complaint most hear around campus, is that people come for class and then they leave. There’s a lack of community here, but  if there were more sit-down restaurant options and later hours of operation, people would be more inclined to hang around and grab a bite with some friends or celebrate with a sit-down meal after a big final.