Helping College Students Find Balance Between Wellness and Comfort

Understanding the Dichotomy: What Students Say Versus What They Eat

The reasons for this divergence between students’ intentions and behaviors can be complex. They may genuinely want to prioritize their health and wellness, but the stress of college life may drive them to seek the emotional comfort of familiar, indulgent foods. Plus, students’ moods and needs fluctuate; they might start the day prioritizing healthy meals and end it craving a burger and cheese fries. That’s perfectly normal, and it’s part of their evolving relationship with food.

As culinarians, my colleagues and I must often ask ourselves an important question: are we only making healthy food for wellness-focused students, those who follow strict diets and will always make nutritious choices? Could we instead innovate menus in a way that creates healthy options that expand students’ palates — and their ideas about what it means to eat well?

The key is balance. Campus dining programs must offer a spectrum — from healthy, nutrient-rich dishes to comforting, indulgent classics — and options that blur the line between the two.

Meeting Students Where They Are

Wellness shouldn’t be about excessive restrictions or strict rules. It should be an accessible, engaging, and integral part of campus life. The goal is to make wellness both approachable and enjoyable through a holistic, science-based strategy and menus full of diverse, flexible, and exciting options.

Campus chefs play a critical role in this regard, harnessing culinary creativity to transform healthy ingredients into delicious, craveable meals that students want to eat, without sacrificing the fun or social elements of dining — which is extremely important in a place students frequent every day, like a resident dining hall. Swapping ingredients or utilizing different cooking techniques can make a huge difference in creating healthier dishes without diminishing flavor or appeal. Imagine an Instagram-worthy burger where the bun is whole grain, toppings include options like avocado, and fries are replaced by crispy roasted Brussels sprouts. Candied pecans sprinkled into a salad can offer a little something sweet without a lot of added sugar. Replacing salt with zesty herbs and bold spices is a great way to add flavor but not sodium.

That’s the focus of Sodexo’s Mindful program, which offers a holistic approach to wellness through strategic recipe development centered around healthy indulgence. Mindful dishes offer satisfying portions and incredible flavors, but with fewer calories, less sodium, and a more health-oriented nutritional profile. Currently, more than one-third of the dishes Sodexo serves in resident dining locations meet Mindful criteria.

Another great example is Sodexo’s commitment to plant-forward dining. Within our resident dining halls, every animal protein is served beside a delicious plant-based alternative. For campuses that want to take plant-forward dining to the next level, Foodprint Foodhall is a chef-driven dining destination that prioritizes flavor, creativity, and fun while highlighting plant-rich and carbon-conscious dishes. At this modern, vibrant food hall, students can enjoy comforting favorites, authentically inspired global cuisine, and exciting new flavors that make plant-rich dining approachable, relatable, and downright delectable.

Small adjustments like these make a big difference in nudging students toward better choices without making them feel deprived. These small changes can gradually shift campus food culture. Over time, students start to expect — and even prefer — healthier options alongside familiar favorites.

Empowering Students Through Choice and Flexibility

While we leverage culinary creativity to encourage students to make healthier decisions, it’s critical to ensure students feel empowered to make the choices that meet their needs at that moment. We never want students to feel forced to eat a certain way or deprived of what they want. Many students are learning to live independently for the first time, and learning how to manage their health is an important part of that. Sodexo’s menus feature highly customizable made-to-order dishes, giving students control and flexibility and supporting them no matter where they are on their wellness journey.

Balancing Indulgence and Wellness

As a chef and lover of food, I understand the comfort that indulgent meals bring — especially during stressful times or moments of homesickness. Wellness is not about eliminating these experiences. It’s about finding a balance that respects both the desire to indulge and the need to prioritize health.

Ultimately, closing the gap between students’ intentions and their eating habits requires collaboration — between chefs, dining teams, campus leaders, and students themselves. By creating menus that are flexible, flavorful, and inclusive, empowering students to customize the things they eat, and offering guidance that respects students’ autonomy, we can help them build lifelong habits that support their well-being