Eat. Fit. Go. meals now being offered on UNO’s campus. UNO student Bryce Uhing said: “I have started to choose Eat. Fit. Go. for my meals because I like that they make eating healthy so simple. I hear a lot of people complain about how expensive it is, but if you think about it, you spend around the same price for chicken tenders and fries but the Eat. Fit. Go. meals leave you more full for a longer period of time. And they make me feel better physically which also helps me mentally in my classes.” Photo by Sara Atkins / The Gateway
Cassie Wade
NEWS EDITOR
The University of Nebraska at Omaha partnered with Eat Fit Go to provide students with healthier meal options at several on-campus dining locations.
Eat Fit Go, which has several Omaha area locations, is a health food store with a twist — instead of ingredients, it sells pre-made meals low in sodium, high in protein and made with no preservatives. The meals are also designed to be allergy-friendly, according to the Eat Fit Go website.
So how did Eat Fit Go become part of University of Omaha’s oncampus dining options?
UNO Food Services Manager Wyatte Stuard said he was introduced to Eat Fit Go by college of education professor Dan Newmire and worked with Eat Fit Go Chief Officer Erik Bird to make the partnership a reality. Stuard was interested in Eat Fit Go because the company’s food preparation policy is similar to UNO’s.
“UNO Food Services already strives to make many items in-house using minimal ingredients, and the vast majority of what we serve is made fresh-to-order,” Stuard said. “For example, we make all of our pizzas from scratch and by hand as well as many of our soups, entrees and other items served on campus.”
Stuard said that preparing food on campus enables Food Services to know exactly what they’re serving students, which means unnecessary preservatives and additives can be avoided.
Eat Fit Go has a similar policy and labels all meals and snacks with ingredient and nutritional information as well as an expiration date so customers know exactly what they’re eating and when they should eat it by.
The addition of Eat Fit Go to UNO’s on-campus dining options aims to fulfill students’ requests for healthier dining options, according to Stuard. He cites the convenience of Eat Fit Go as one of its many advantages.
“Between work, school and other commitments, many students do not have time to prepare a healthy meal for themselves,” Stuard said.
“Instead of turning to processed foods, they can quickly grab a balanced and healthy meal-to-go, and eat it whenever suits them best.”
As an added bonus, students can warm up their meal in the container it comes in, which saves on time spent washing dishes.
Sophomore English major Alora Clipp has tried Eat Fit Go. She said the convenience of the meal did not necessarily make up for its inconvenient expiration date.
“I felt like I was rushed to eat it because the expiration date was so close to when I bought it,” Clipp said.
Clipp also said students should make sure they have access to a microwave in order to warm up their meal.
Eat Fit Go deliveries are made to campus twice a week. The meals are available in the Milo Bail Student Center Food Court, Library Café and HPER Café.
A variety of foods, including wraps, salads, soups, mac and cheese and chicken are available. Prices range from $5.25 – $10.
