While junk food remains popular at Binghamton University, a nutrition professor says eating healthy is becoming “very trendy.”

“Students want to have healthier choices,” said Jennifer Wegmann, a professor of health and physical education. “Organic food, vegetarian and vegan food are a trend right now and that’s a good thing.”

In response to numerous student requests, Sodexho Campus Services has expanded wellness, vegetarian and vegan selections at College-in-the-Woods dining hall this semester.

“Our research indicated that this is something we needed to do,” said Bob Griffin, Sodexho’s marketing manager. “CIW made the most sense, primarily because of its location, [and] of all the dining halls, most folks wanted it there.”

Some of the new dining options include whole wheat pasta, Campbell’s “Well and Good” soups, turkey burgers, grilled veggies, lean meats, soy cheese, flaxseed, unsweetened iced tea and organic milk. CIW now also has 8 oz cups and environmentally friendly “to-go ware.”

In addition, black computer kiosks have been added to all dining halls this year. Students can use the computers to access Sodexho’s “Balance Mind, Body and Soul” Web site, located at http://www.balancemindbodysoul.com, to find nutrition analyses on all the foods offered by Sodexho.

“What we’re looking to do is kind of a whole new approach to eating well on campus,” said Alexa Schmidt, registered dietitian with Dining Services. “[We want] to see if this is something students are interested in and what they’re looking for, starting at this dining hall and [then] expanding it campus-wide.”

Both Schmidt and Griffin said that they’ve been getting good feedback from the students.

“I’ve taken two of my classes through the CIW dining hall and their responses as to what’s available at different stations and if they like [the new selections] were very positive,” Schmidt said.

Hannah Sommer, a sophomore CIW resident, said that as a vegetarian she is happy to see new selections in the dining hall.

“I’m not completely satisfied, but I’m more satisfied than last year,” she said. “I used to go to Mountainvew for tofu and at the end of the year I ended up eating only pasta and cucumber sushi.”

Although the most recent, CIW is not the only place on campus where students can buy healthy food. The Food Co-op has been providing BU with organic, vegan and vegetarian products since 1975.

“This is one of the best options to come to for vegetarian food,” said Kimberly Oppen, a coordinator for Food Co-op. “You can only tolerate so much of the dining hall food. We have our own recipes, so this is like home-cooked food.”

The Food Co-op is a student-run, not-for-profit organization that’s located on the second floor of Old University Union. Their menu includes fresh baked bread, hummus, tempeh with cold souse, green kale, squash pie, sweet potato salad, curried lentils and spinach fettuccine, among other dishes. The kitchen is open Monday through Friday from 12 to 3:30 p.m.

But no matter where the healthy food comes from, Schmidt and Wegmann both recommend it to students.

“There are lots of benefits to eating healthy,” Schmidt said. “It gives you energy, helps you concentrate and helps develop life-long healthy eating habits, decreasing the risk of chronic disease.”

“There are no bad foods and goods foods,” she added. “Everything can be fit into a balanced diet. It all comes down to moderation and portion sizes.”