SMC Food

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RH3

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Here's a question you might not have seen before...How's the food at each of the SMC's. I spent a weekend at VMI, and its food was not good (that does not mean that VMI is not a good school. I don't mean to offend any VMI alumni or cadets). I am worried that this is a trend followed by all the SMC's. I have heard that, when it comes to physical fitness, healthy, high-quality food is more important than any workout. If this is the case, I do not want to eat high-school quality food for four years. Can anyone speak about the quality of the food at Senior Military Colleges?
 
VMI is known for the spartan life. I’m sure that extends to Crozet. It was not open to visitors when my son visited the campus. VT and TAMU will likely have better food options. Don’t know about Citadel, Norwich or UNG.
 
DS is a cadet in the VTCC. Food options at Virginia Tech are plenty and the quality and variety have been great. Unlike civilian counterparts, he and his buds appear to eat three meals a day, not skipping breakfast when you need the energy after PT. Not every meal is a home run and the occasional MRE brings them back to reality. The rare time off-campus affords cadets plenty of good food choices in Blacksburg as well. There are many walkable options in town from Upper-Quad.
 
RH3 said:
Here's a question you might not have seen before...How's the food at each of the SMC's. I spent a weekend at VMI, and its food was not good (that does not mean that VMI is not a good school. I don't mean to offend any VMI alumni or cadets). I am worried that this is a trend followed by all the SMC's. I have heard that, when it comes to physical fitness, healthy, high-quality food is more important than any workout. If this is the case, I do not want to eat high-school quality food for four years. Can anyone speak about the quality of the food at Senior Military Colleges?
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Lol…The Citadel has never been known for the culinary excellence of its mess hall, but I understand there is now a Chick Fiil-A in Mark Clark Hall…2888F4E8-DDA1-49A8-950F-9A82F2645DEB.jpeg
 
The food at VMI is bad. No question about it. It is good when visitors (parents and others) are there, but otherwise not good. The town has some solid dining options.
 
The food at Norwich is not good. Even on Parents Weekend, still not good. But the dining hall is nice. And sometimes local food trucks come to campus. Plus, we have the Ben and Jerry’s factory a few exits away. 😀
 
The food issue at VMI is bad, and hopefully will be addressed by the new superintendent. It's very poor given the tuition charged, and definitely makes it tough on the Corps. Additionally, not having proper nutrition makes it almost impossible to compete legitimately in D1 Sports given all the other disadvantages.
 
During my son's time at VMI the food quality certainly had it's ups and downs and they did change vendors late in his time there, which made it better for a little while. Although it wasn't gourmet dining, there were always enough options for him to find enough to eat. He is not that picky and knew how to make good nutritional choices based on what was available, so he did not have any major complaints. It's institutional dining on a budget, so don't set your expectations too high.

For any future VMI parents out there, don't rush to any quick opinions about the food situation based on what you hear on social media. We heard a few stories of food shortages and cadets "starving" on final exam days and doing poorly on exams as a result. Contact your cadet or the parents council to find out what is really going on before you jump to any conclusions based on social media chatter. And if your cadet is one that did not do well on an exam and is blaming the lack of food, maybe take that with a grain of salt...
 
When my son did his visit to VMI the food was excellent. That was several years ago and it was also Parent's Weekend/ Day and Coastal Carolina was the opponent. I wouldn't however base my SMC choice on the food.
 
vmi1991fromva said:
The food issue at VMI is bad, and hopefully will be addressed by the new superintendent. It's very poor given the tuition charged, and definitely makes it tough on the Corps. Additionally, not having proper nutrition makes it almost impossible to compete legitimately in D1 Sports given all the other disadvantages.
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The food isn’t the reason VMI has a hard time competing in D1. Keydets may not like their food, but they aren’t malnourished.

I will let you in on a little secret - institutional food sucks everywhere - college students just ***** about it more because their hopes and expectations haven’t yet been dashed by a lifetime of experience.
 
RH3 said:
I have heard that, when it comes to physical fitness, healthy, high-quality food is more important than any workout.
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Seriously?
High Quality food is not the same thing as good nutrition. Good Nutrition involves the proper mix of protein, fats, carbs, etc.
I've seen folks who were INCREDIBLY fit who ate the same things as folks who were slobs. The difference was mostly their exercise/workout habits.
My best friend and roommate as an Ensign was one of the fittest folks in my graduating class at USNA. Course record holder on the Obstacle Course, 4:10 miler and All-American in our sport. I lived worked and played with the guy and can tell you that he ate the same crap as most of the folks our age - pasta, burgers, pizza, etc.
Same thing when I deployed with Seals and Recon Marines aboard my ship. They didn't eat any differently than the rest of us, the difference was in their exercise habits.
 
My son is a Rat at VMI. He complains about the food. He's an athlete. We send him extra. He seems to be able to order Uber eats or whatever, occasionally. Of course when we ate there during parent's weekend, the food was good. I was enlisted for 25 years. Good and bad DFACs, it's all part of the process. He looked healthy when he came home for Thanksgiving. Anytime you are eating the same food over and over, day in and day out, I am sure you formulate a negative opinion about it. If that's his major complaint, we are good. If asked, he would tell you that he would sign up for VMI a thousand times over. Food was never a consideration when narrowing down his places to go. Being mentally tough should be high on the list if considering VMI.
 
Sports nutrition has changed. VMI hasn't kept pace. I wrestled at VMI. We had no real training table, and they still don't. I had one son that wrestled at UVA and one now currently wrestling at VMI. It is extremely difficult to cut/manage weight at VMI because most of the food is high starch and carbs. You can't just get chicken or fish that isn't fried and/or in some fattening style. It has nothing to do with wanting gourmet. There is no comparison to what the UVA athletes get and how they monitor their diets and help them. I'm pretty sure Naval Academy and West Point does the same. With regards to football, the linemen need to keep or increase their weight. That is always a challenge at a military school. Everyone knows games are won in the trenches. Exercise habits can offset a lot but when you get to the elite level and are trying to maximize your abilities you need to implement a sound nutrition plan. VMI could do something simple and basic to help fix it, but they haven't. And whatever they did to help the sports nutrition would help the entire Corps.
 
vmi1991fromva said:
Sports nutrition has changed. VMI hasn't kept pace. I wrestled at VMI. We had no real training table, and they still don't. I had one son that wrestled at UVA and one now currently wrestling at VMI. It is extremely difficult to cut/manage weight at VMI because most of the food is high starch and carbs. You can't just get chicken or fish that isn't fried and/or in some fattening style. It has nothing to do with wanting gourmet. There is no comparison to what the UVA athletes get and how they monitor their diets and help them. I'm pretty sure Naval Academy and West Point does the same. With regards to football, the linemen need to keep or increase their weight. That is always a challenge at a military school. Everyone knows games are won in the trenches. Exercise habits can offset a lot but when you get to the elite level and are trying to maximize your abilities you need to implement a sound nutrition plan. VMI could do something simple and basic to help fix it, but they haven't. And whatever they did to help the sports nutrition would help the entire Corps.
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All excellent points. I assumed, because VMI competes in the D 1 classification, that food, dieticians, etc...were all just part of the program. Sounds like I am wrong. Because it's VMI, because it's a SMC, etc...I attributed the "bad food " take from others, including my son, as just part of the gripes that come with choosing such a a school. As a parent, who pays for room and board, I would love to see improvements in this area. Someone mentioned previously, with the new leadership, that this could potentially be addressed. Let's hope so.
 
Threesons said:
All excellent points. I assumed, because VMI competes in the D 1 classification, that food, dieticians, etc...were all just part of the program. Sounds like I am wrong. Because it's VMI, because it's a SMC, etc...I attributed the "bad food " take from others, including my son, as just part of the gripes that come with choosing such a a school. As a parent, who pays for room and board, I would love to see improvements in this area. Someone mentioned previously, with the new leadership, that this could potentially be addressed. Let's hope so.
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At The Citadel, NCAA athletes compete at the D1 level (FCS in football), and have their own "Corps Squad" Mess, separate from the standard Corps of Cadet's Mess. I assume their nutrition is monitored as is weight training etc. They must be doing something right - the women's Volleyball team just won the Southern Conference Championship....and they had to be one of the shortest teams by height competing....:p
 
In just about every college dining hall in America, you’re in greater danger of being bored than being malnourished. Early in my corporate career, I was broadly exposed to institutional foodservice. The most common issue is repetition via limited menus. That’s a function of cost containment (i.e. limited budgets) and customer satisfaction (i.e. pleasing many people with divergent tastes). With those factors in play, you can see why French fries are inescapable.

Even at the crown jewel of officer-commissioning sources — the SAs — no one would say the food is great. But as DD says about USNA, the food is “good enough.” Eating nutritious meals is as much about the choices you make as it is about what’s on offer. Make good choices — lean protein, lots of veg, light on starches — and watch your portions. Drink a lot of water throughout the day. Avoid snacking, especially if it’s sugary, starchy carbs.

As mentioned above, you’re hopefully not basing your college decision on food quality. If that’s the case, you might want to rethink the whole military thing. Ever had an MRE?
 
vmi1991fromva said:
Sports nutrition has changed. VMI hasn't kept pace. I wrestled at VMI. We had no real training table, and they still don't. I had one son that wrestled at UVA and one now currently wrestling at VMI. It is extremely difficult to cut/manage weight at VMI because most of the food is high starch and carbs. You can't just get chicken or fish that isn't fried and/or in some fattening style. It has nothing to do with wanting gourmet. There is no comparison to what the UVA athletes get and how they monitor their diets and help them. I'm pretty sure Naval Academy and West Point does the same. With regards to football, the linemen need to keep or increase their weight. That is always a challenge at a military school. Everyone knows games are won in the trenches. Exercise habits can offset a lot but when you get to the elite level and are trying to maximize your abilities you need to implement a sound nutrition plan. VMI could do something simple and basic to help fix it, but they haven't. And whatever they did to help the sports nutrition would help the entire Corps.
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Support for athletes, whether it be dietary, coaching, training, equipment or recovery, varies greatly from institution to institution, and from sport to sport within institutions. That should come as no surprise to anyone who has been on more than one recruiting visit. If you don't like the support offered at one institution, there are 70+ others to choose from in your sport. If your primary motivation is attending a particular institution vs. attending the institution that provides the greatest support for your sport, then you take the good with the bad.
 
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I agree but you could also turn the decisioning back on the school by saying if you are not prepared to do what you need to do to compete at the D1 level, you should consider dropping down to D3, where athletics are more in keeping with school activities and desires. Again, I have confidence in VMI's new leadership that all this will be addressed appropriately. I'm also a big fan of D3 athletics, where you have a healthy student-athlete balance.

But this thread has gotten off target by mentioning athletics (my fault). I'm very sympathetic to the wrestlers cutting weight at VMI or any of the SMC's. To answer the original question above, VA Tech has much better food than VMI. However, once you are out of the ratline, you will be able to see and choose your food choices easier. From what I'm told, breakfast and lunch are currently ok. Dinner is the main meal that is complained about. Plus, you have the PX, Doordash, and downtown (short walk if not confined to post) as options. Can't beat the Citadel's on post Chick-fil-A, though
 
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