By: Heidi Kwok, Staff Writer

First, the 24/7 UpMeals SmartVending machine at West Mall Centre disappeared without a warning. Then, the Subway at Mackenzie Cafe was quietly torn down. Jugo Juice was next on the chopping board, having been boarded up over the summer for “routine maintenance.” For some reason, I believed their deception. It’s just a temporary inconvenience, right? But when the fall term commenced, and I rushed there after a long day of classes for my weekly indulgence — an overpriced peanut butter and chocolate smoothie — I was met with a sight that felt like a slap to the face. There, perched mockingly over the corpse of my beloved juice shop, stood CRUST N CRUNCH.

While some people might appreciate the convenience of a pizza slice, the AQ’s brand new pizza place, along with Triple O’s replacement of Subway, underscores the gradual decline of somewhat healthy on-campus dining options in favour of fast-food chains that mainly serve ultra-processed and greasy, deep-fried foods. SFU has consistently chosen to prioritize profitable partnerships with mega-franchises — framed under the guise of convenience and brand familiarity — at the expense of community health.

This is unfair to students, faculty, and staff, who should have access to on-campus meals that are not only healthy and nourishing but also affordable and culturally relevant. 

With healthy food becoming increasingly out of reach, this shift carries extremely harmful consequences. This is demonstrated by a 2025 study from McMaster University, which found a stronger correlation between the regular consumption of ultra-processed foods and cardiometabolic illnesses, including increased risk of hypertension. 

The disappearance of healthy dining options also highlights the broader issue of healthy eating being treated as a luxury — normalizing the stereotype of the “starving university student” who relies solely on a diet of ramen and cheap fast food. However, behind this trend is a financially constrained student who’s struggling to feed themselves properly, and the university is actively perpetuating that struggle. What kind of dystopia do we live in when students and campus community members must sacrifice food and healthy eating to afford rent, monthly expenses, and tuition?

Student hunger and broader food insecurity — difficulty accessing food often due to financial constraints — are on the rise across Canada, and SFU must take more practical action to address this growing crisis. A model worth emulating is UBC Sprouts, a volunteer-run café at UBC that offers organic, plant-based meals on a pay-what-you-can basis, ensuring affordable options for the campus community without compromising on quality. Like many others who pack homemade meals due to a lack of nourishing and affordable food options, I think I echo their sentiment when I urge SFU to prioritize the well-being of its community over profits. We need more easily accessible, healthy food options on campus!