Tuition Hikes VS Munchies

San Francisco is an expensive town! And being a college student in this city can add up real quick---Getting a coffee in the morning, two dollars. Paying for the bus too school and back, four dollars (unless u sneak on the back). Going out to a bar with friends, ten too fifteen dollars. Going out to eat on a date, twenty too thirty dollars. This town and our social lifestyles require something that most college students don’t have---money.

But the recent economic troubles of the country/state are forcing the people in Sacramento to reexamine the states expenses, most notable the state’s budget in education. It’s becoming obvious that college students in San Francisco (and up and down the coast) are going to have to find ways to accommodate the budget cuts, all the while trying to survive! California’s Education systems and Government have proposed a 650 million dollar cut to the UC, CSU, and Community College System for 2012. The plan laid out by Governor Jerry Brown is pushing the college student food budget to the point of “top ramien” meals daily. Chris Chavez, President of the CSU Student Association said, "California needs to know that cuts have consequences. They sound good in sound bites but they have real effects on real people."

The extra thousands spent on tuition, books and rent--- are now being spent on non-educational factious, rather than making it to the students personal FASFA checks. Why should the problems of the state be passed onto students? I thought college life was supposed to be a time of development and excitement? Sure were suppose too struggle, it’s the lifestyle of a college student. But not having that extra money every semester is forcing students to come up with drastic ways to stretch their food budget. Why do I have to eat on a budget that resembles a homeless man?  Its bad enough that the majority of classes are being cut, teacher pay is going down, and the prices of books have reached a point of insanity! Then the California government has the nerve to ask us to then sacrifice the quality of food we eat. It feels like the state problems are being dumped onto a majority that cant afford to take on these measures, more importantly wont do anything about the problem.

I personally feel that its unfair to ask so much from a group of people who only want to better themselves. I understand that we live in a time of uncertainty, but why go after a group of people and their livelihood! Food should be an area of the college life that shouldn't be as uncertain as the class catalog. Just because I'm a college student, doesn't mean I want to eat pasta six days of the week! I want a quailty of food/life, just like all of you do! Because no matter how bad the economic situation gets---you should always be able to get your munchies!

Breakfast? Or am I still sleeping?

Breakfast should be a well balanced and nutritiousness meal. But the guys at Epic Meal Time have taken that idea and thrown it out the window, along with the side of cantaloupe you were thinking of eating. These former students turned chefs, have taken every persons sinful wishes and dreams about food. Then make it into a delicious reality, but with more bacon.

Epic Meal Time is a series of "cooking" ideas that will give you type two diabetes in one sitting. These crazy ideas are usually posts about what college stoners, overweight southerns, and meat lovers alike dream about in their sleep...including me. Some of the meals they have made so far are--- Tequila Taco Night, Fast Food Lasuagna, Candy Pizza, Maximum Mac n' Cheese and more.

Their YouTube channel has created such a buzz that they created a whole website and merchandising chain from the videos-- over a million subscribers and thirty million views! So remember that one night you ate peanut butter out of the jar? Dont feel so bad! These guys are probably scooping that peanut butter out with bacon strips that are covered with brown sugar. Because when you got the munchies, giving in is the easiest thing to do!

Controversial Issues in Food

1) Menu Labeling Calories in Restaurants--- http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2009/07/menu-labeling-law-takes-effect-how-many-calories-in-that-sandwich.html

Calories counting has become essential for people and their diets. Th trend towards a healthier lifestyle has forced the great state of California to create a law requiring the calorie count to be displayed along with the food item. This shift toward a more health conscious society, has made many small mom and pop chains to meet the demand of the new law. The law even though helpful for health conscious people, also make people rethink what they are ordering now.


2) Labor Rights in Restaurants--- http://www.callaborlaw.com/archives/court-decisions-ninth-circuit-upholds-san-franciscos-employer-health-care-mandate.html

Labor Rights will always be an issue. But in a city like San Francsico, with its high rent and living expenses-- are making it hard for resturants to keep out of the "red" and provide basic labor rights to its workers. this is putting a strian not only on the workers, resturants, and customers. But also the state! Many part time workers are complaining of harsh work conditions and low pay, thus taking legal actions or asking for support from local, state, and federal governments.


3) Health and Sanitation in Restaurants--- http://restaurants.about.com/od/foodsafetylaw/a/FoodSafety.htm

This will always be a huge controversy in restarurants and food! Food health and preperations force many small time restaurants to meet the demands that sometimes are hard to accomodate, but are vital to the consumers health! We all want to enjoy a meal out, but we dont want to have this issue over our heads!


4) Food Security and Prevention measures--- http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/FoodDefenseandEmergencyResponse/ucm082751.htm

The biggest expense that not apparent to people outside the kitchen is the amount of waste that a restaurant goes thru. Many small establishments don't have updated technology when it comes to food storage-- this can cause food to spoil, bacteria to accumulate, and thousands of dollars to be wasted. But the biggest concern is for the consumer, when food maybe out of date but still be cooked in thier meal!


5) Marketing Fast Food towards children--- http://www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Pages/AMA%20Publications/AMA%20Journals/Journal%20of%20Public%20Policy%20Marketing/TOCS/summary%20fall%2007/FastFoodjppmfall07.aspx

Fast Food will always be something in American society. But the trend of obestiy over the past fifty years has forced people to pondered why so many Americans enjoy those salty, fatty, and greasy filled establishments. Many people noticed that many of the fast food giants are not only putting their establishments in high poverty areas, but also the majority of their marketing is geared towards children under twelve!

10 Links About Munchies

http://www.7x7.com/

                This is an amazing website that is dedicated to the great city of San Francisco. 7X7 is a website that includes a variety of articles, blogs, and reviews of amazing Bay Area eats. Another great thing about this website is they include a calendar with things like-- festivals, art shows, restaurant openings and more. A great website that should be visited regularly if you want to take advantage of the cities deep inner belly that you haven’t experienced before.

http://brokeassstuart.com/

                Stuart is an amazing man!! Ive had the pleasure of reading his book when I first moved to San Francisco. Let’s just say it was my bible for a few months. Stuart’s blogs, books, and videos gives advice to people like you and me--- broke ass college students. His Book “BrokeAssStuart: A Guide to cheaply living in San Francisco,” is organized by the districts in San Francisco. Each section includes cheap eats, bars, events, places to see and more. His blog continues in the books spirit and is one of the first things I read every morning.

http://www.yelp.com/

                A user friendly and very helpful website! Yelp is full of personal reviews by ordinary people and is full of information of what experiences people have at restaurants. Yelp breaks down places by neighborhood, styles of food, prices, a rating system and more. I use this website to find local eats all the time! It’s a great indicator of what you’re getting yourself into when going to a new place around the corner or all the way downtown.

http://www.zagat.com/

                Zagat.com is a nationwide company that reviews hotels, bars, nightlife in many of the major cities across the US. Zagat has a wide array of services. They visit establishments and give descriptions, opinions and what makes the place unique. If you want to know how a restaurant really tastes, you need to visit a zagat review page.

http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/section/michael-bauer/

                SF Gate is a local paper that has a lot of reviews on local eats. Michael Bauer is the main editor for the Gate and writes really quirky but critical reviews. SF Gate promotes a lot of small independent restaurants (the places I love the most). SF Gate blogs are continually updated with new restaurants and free to cheap events that you can attend.

http://sanfrancisco.foodmafia.com/

                When you think of the Mafia, you usually depict gangsters in Cadillac’s. The Food Mafia is sort of like that, but with a pen instead of a caddy. They write reviews (sometimes really harsh) on local eats in San Francisco. They visit restaurants and give details about the restaurant that you don’t see on many other sites. They focus on food and prices, but also décor and the vibe of restaurants. I visited some of the recommendations on the website, and lets just say my round belly approved.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/

                One of my favorite channels on TV! Food network is a great resource for recipes, cooking tips and even lifestyle changes involving food. This helpful website is easy to use and has numerous options for the style of cooking you’re trying to achieve. Many of the networks chefs have their own restaurants and some even here in San Francisco.

http://kelseats.com/

                A reputable blogger who covers lots of SF eats. Her price range is a little steep for me, but her choices are amazing! Kelsey is a feverishly blogger who is not afraid to speak her mind when it come to spending money on food. She believes that when you spend money at a restaurant, you should get what you pay for, and she is right. She breaks down establishments by food, style, accessibility, price range and much more.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/c/6/SF-Bay-Area-restaurants.html

                Another Bay Area Website dedicated to the wonderful world of food and drinks. Urbanspoon does a wide variety of reviews that can be funny and informational. They even have “special features,” section that talks about restaurants that have a quirky twist like--- BYOB, outdoor, vegan, movies, theater, music and more.

http://www.groupon.com/san-francisco/

                Even though groupon is a website dedicated to savings. It still is a great website to give you the opportunity to eat at places you might not be able to afford. Groupon has daily deals on a variety of things, but check out the food section if you want to find a place near you that you might not have ever tired.