The Rutgers Nutrition Club seeks to create a space for nutrition education, panels on proper dietary needs and social food-focused events that suit the needs of college students.
The club hosts a variety of events ranging from cooking workshops to educational seminars and panels. They frequently discuss the challenges college students face in nutritional eating and strategies they can employ to overcome issues like attaining and affording healthy ingredients.
“A big struggle for college students in general is affordability and a lot of the healthier options … are always more expensive than getting fast food,” Margaret Dounis, president of the Nutrition Club and junior in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, said. “Most college students that are not working full time would choose to just get the unhealthy option because it’s cheaper.”
Members of the organization noted multiple outlets around campus that provide students with affordable and nutritious ingredients, including the Basic Needs Center or the farmers markets held on the College Avenue and Busch campuses. They also referred students struggling to balance their diets to any of the student health centers.
Naiya Bogert, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences sophomore and Nutrition Club secretary, advised college students who want to start eating healthier to start small by making slight changes to everyday meals.
She cited recent events from last semester hosted by the club that encouraged students to make more nutritious substitutions in food like baking pumpkin muffins with Greek yogurt.
Annie Painter, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences junior and social media coordinator for the club, emphasized the importance of the panels they hold with other nutrition students and professors to help teach both the basics of proper nutrition and feasible career options in the field for nutrition-invested club members.
“I feel like a lot of people don’t know what nutritional sciences have to offer,” she said, discussing one panel in particular involving Ph.D. and Masters nutrition students. “The panel was nice to see career options, what our next steps are and how to make an impact here.”
In the midst of Ramadan and Fasting February, members of the club spoke on intermittent fasting and how it may produce mixed results depending on how it is practiced. They agreed that students who participate in fasting-related activities should do so in a way that doesn’t glamorize eating disorders or deliberately deprive themselves of nutrients.
Dounis advised college students who are considering fasting to speak with their doctors and act carefully as avoiding eating could possibly affect stress levels, mood and academic performance.
The club meets at night at least once a month at Davison Hall on Douglass campus, announced typically via Instagram and GroupMe, and is open to all Rutgers students looking to better themselves and meet others interested in their health.
“Seeing the growth of the club in general, from being such a small club to now (having) meetings with (approximately) 30 people, (is) just amazing to see,” Dounis said. “You walk around campus and … you say hi to people because you’ve seen them come to the nutrition club.”
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