On campus

Students have access to resources to navigate the dining hall. They can visit the Eat at State website to browse campus dining menus. Logos appear next to menu items that are vegetarian and vegan. 

There is also a portal called MSUtrition that students can visit online. Filters can be applied, allowing students to browse menu options free of any restrictions they selected.

Registered dietician for MSU Culinary Services Kelsey Patterson said MSU follows lacto-ovo vegetarian guidelines, meaning their items marked “vegetarian” may include egg or dairy but not meat, fish and poultry. 

Patterson’s role as a dietician involves making menu decisions. She strives to include a variety of full plates with vegetarian and vegan options.

“It’s more than just a vegan burger,” Patterson said. “There’s many different ways that you can eat vegan and vegetarian and not even notice that it’s missing meat. It can be surrounded around vegetables and still be really tasty.” 

Students can get creative with options in the dining hall while mixing and matching parts of entrees to build a new meal. 

Part of Patterson’s job is to educate students on the resources available to them. She said resources like MSUtrition often go under-utilized. 

“Sometimes I hear from students in November that they haven’t been able to eat much in the dining halls and that breaks my heart, so that’s what my role is here,” Patterson said. “Oftentimes, there’s things that we offer that the student may not necessarily know about or know how to utilize.” 

Students can reach out to Patterson with feedback or questions at 517-884-0660 or dieticians@rhs.msu.edu.

“You’re becoming an adult and you’re having to re-learn patterns and routines,” Patterson said. “I’m here to assist in learning what is that best routine for you based off of your lifestyle choices, and what is going to help you be the most successful here in college.” 

Woody’s Oasis

Woody’s Oasis is a Mediterranean deli located at 1050 Trowbridge Road. It also has a location in the International Center on campus.

The menu is labeled with vegan and vegetarian options. Woody’s serves a veggie burger and a variety of fresh salads. 

All of the homemade hummus is vegan and many of the ala carte options, like the falafel, are as well.

Barrio

Barrio, located at 202 Albert St. serves a variety of tacos. 

The “El Vegano” taco is a vegan option with portobello mushrooms, salsa and veggies. You can also build your own taco, selecting your own vegetarian and vegan options like Thai chili tofu, black beans and gochujang BBQ tofu. 

All of the salsas and most sauces are vegan and vegetarian-friendly.

Sapporo

Sapporo is a ramen and noodle restaurant located at 317 M.A.C. Ave. 

The Sapporo udon ramen is classic ramen that could be catered to vegetarians by asking for no crab. A vegetarian shoyu ramen is also an option; it’s chock-full of vegetables and noodles in a mushroom broth. 

The edamame and hiyayakko are also vegan and vegetarian-friendly dishes.

Omi Sushi

Omi Sushi is located at 210 M.A.C. Ave. 

The appetizer menu contains many veggie options like edamame and tofu steak. There is also a selection of vegetable sushi rolls including a sweet potato tempura roll and avocado cucumber.

No Thai

At No Thai, 403 E. Grand River Ave., the vegetarian and vegan options are flexible. 

Customers can select tofu as their protein and choose an entree, looking at the ingredients to avoid milk or egg. Many of the stir fry options are free of animal products.

No Thai’s menu also has a specialty vegan green curry sauce. 

Insomnia Cookies

Those craving a midnight snack can make a trip to Insomnia Cookies at 603 E. Grand River Ave. 

There are three vegan cookie options on the menu including a vegan birthday cake, chocolate chunk and double chocolate chunk.

This story is part of our 2022 Welcome Week print issue. Read the entire issue here.