Bradley Keliinoi

For the Review

The soon-to-be-named Veggies & Friends club hopes to challenge students to eat healthier and organically by educating them through activities and informational tables.

Changing its name from the Veggie/Vegan club to include members who eat meat, it will be working in cooperation with the Real Food Challenge. Real Food Challenge is a national organization working to encourage colleges to increase the procurement of real food on college and university campuses according to the organization’s Web site.

The club wants to raise awareness of personal health, the nutritional facts of foods students consume and the cost effectiveness of going organic, sophomore club senator Jesse Aerni said.

Soon tables, activities and posters will be up promoting student participation in the Real Food Challenge, which seeks to give students healthier food choices, junior Jillian Haig, official “Hug Master” for the club said. She is responsible for spreading “good vibes” during meetings.

There are many benefits to eating organic foods. Organic produce typically contains fewer chemicals, since pesticides are highly discouraged from being used, Aerni said.

Aerni also said that aside from the fact that organic foods are healthier, studies show that they taste better and appear to be of higher quality.

Other organic foods, including meat and other animal products, also guarantee consumers that no animals were treated inhumanely during the process of the food.

“I really like animals, even though I eat them, [and] I want them to have a good life,” Haig said.

Part of the club’s goal is to have organic foods available in Dillin Hall and the other food establishments on campus. They also want those foods to come from Oregon farms.

In an effort to implement these goals, the club, in previous years, has held monthly meetings with food services management to discuss ways to incorporate organic foods into the menu. The management has been cooperative in the past, and the club plans to continue conversations to accomplish their goals, Haig said.

“Who doesn’t want to have organic choices?” Haig said.

Veggies & Friends meets bimonthly on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in Hewlett-Packard Park Apartment E304. Students interested in learning healthy alternatives to eating are encouraged to join.