Food choices on the Fresno City College campus are very slim.  Right now our campus offers Taher, the food service in the cafeteria and the food cart near the main fountain and the Pacific Café next to the bookstore.

At least on paper, the situation is complicated.  Right now, Even though Taher holds an exclusive contract with the college to provide food on campus, Pacific Café continues to operate because the eatery was already on campus and was grandfathered in even after Taher took over.

Many here in the Rampage think the food arrangement on campus is inadequate and unfair and not in the students’ best interests.  Exclusive contracts limit our choices.

In 2014, the exclusive contract between Taher and FCC will expire and be up for renegotiation.  The Rampage editorial board would like to put forth suggestions for additional or replacement food choices on the FCC campus.

News Editor
Kaitlin Regan:
ChipoltleChipotle would be the perfect alternative for campus dining for students due to the options and healthy choices. Because students need to make the best of every dime, they can be assured that Chipotle will provide them with a healthy bang for their buck. They can choose from many combinations of burritos, tacos and burrito bowls, students have a plethora of options before them.

Chipotle also supports family farmers and its ingredients contain no synthetic hormones. Its ties to the organic and local produce markets add revenue to the surrounding areas.

Online Photo Editor
Paul Schlesinger:
Jimmy John’sI would love to see a Jimmy John’s on our campus because the restaurant produces a quality sandwich at a fast and efficient pace. This sandwich chain was started in 1983 in Illinois and caters to starving college students. Because of this, their prices are easy on the wallet. Sandwiches usually range from $5 to $6, while soda costs $1.60 or $1.75.

The menu is divided between sandwich types, which range from 8-inch subs to clubs. While there are sandwich combinations you can pick from the menu, you can customize these combinations anyway you like.

Arts & Entertainment Editor
Matthew Elliott:
Pacific CaféSo long as Pacific Café makes significant changes, their contract with the school should be renewed. First of all, they need to accept credit and debit cards. Electronic payments are now the definitive standard for transactions. Second, since January of last year, the location has consistently failed to reach the health department’s compliance guidelines. For at least seven instances in a row, the café has been cited with minor health code violations. Third, we suggest that Pacific Café borrows Taher’s diversity practices. If these three serious concerns can be addressed immediately, the business should stay.

Social Media Director
Olga Verkhotina:
Pita PitPita Pit offers some good and healthy options. Salads, pita wraps, sandwiches, freshly made smoothies and snacks sound like a nice change of pace from greasy hamburgers, French fries and soda.

Pita Pit has a wide variety of vegetables and can also saute them for you if you’d like. They also have many dressing options from Caesar and Ranch to spicy and BBQ sauces. Their Greek cucumber Tzatziki salad dressing is good and pretty light that many vegetarians may like.

The staff at Pita Pit is usually very friendly. They make your food right in front of you so you know what’s in it.

Sports Editor
Tomas Kassahun:
Taj Mahal & FasikaIn one of the most diverse campuses in California, it would seem logical to have a vast array of cultural food available. Yet this is not the case at Fresno City College. Outside of Asian food, the college does not offer much else. Why not have mouth-watering Indian delicacies or Mediterranean sweetness? Or maybe even unique African dishes. This would fill the hungry appetite of college students and also expand the students’ appreciation of diversity.

Taj Mahal Indian restaurant, Fasika Ethiopian restaurant and Fresno’s Mediterranean Restaurant located on North Fresno Street, are a few choices that should be available on campus.

Opinion Editor
Troy Pope:
Dog House GrillDog House Grill seems like the perfect fit for the Pacific Café area.  The food selection seems to target college kids, and definitely focuses on meat.  The location next to Save Mart Center features an outdoor patio where there is a large barbeque filled with meat.

The outdoor patio here on campus could accommodate the barbeque and attract a different clientele that currently patronizes Pacific Café. After a test, nothing seems more rewarding than a pulled-pork or steak sandwich.  Dog House is the perfect for any college campus.

The VerdictAlthough it may seem like a pipe dream to hope for change, or new additions, we cannot give up hope that the school will realize that new and different food options can only benefit the student body.  We’re not insistent on removing Pacific Café or Taher, we just think adding variety to the available menus is warranted.