Where do the Vegans go now that the Co-op has Closed?

Image courtesy of Marie Panday

At the end of last year, the Maryland Food Collective, also known as the Maryland Food Co-op, shut its doors after operating for 44 years. This was a disappointment to students all over campus.

For vegans and vegetarians, losing the Co-op meant losing a convenient, affordable and accessible option for food on campus.

Now that the Co-op has left, where does that leave us? Where have the Co-op fans started going?

To find out, we interviewed a few former regulars.

“The Co-op was such a lovely environment to work in,” said Mary Emily Ballas, a former Co-op employee and sophomore psychology and family science double major. “I was, and still am, so shocked the university would throw away such an important and unique location on campus.”

Ballas, a vegetarian, cited many issues that led to the Co-op being shut down. Vegan and vegetarian food has become increasingly more accessible over the past few years, so the Co-op was no longer the only option for people with these restrictions.

However, vegan and vegetarian options at more commercial establishments are typically more processed and less healthy, said Ballas.

In terms of the dining halls on-campus, Marie Panday, a vegan sophomore environmental science and public policy double major, thinks the university could do a better job at accommodating these dietary restrictions.

“A lot of options were mislabeled as vegan if you tried to eat outside of the small vegan station,” Panday said regarding the dining hall. “The dining staff didn’t really understand what I meant by vegan.”

Panday ate at the Co-op three times weekly. She said that even when the options at the Co-op weren’t vegan, they could easily be modified to fit her diet.

For many, moving into apartment-style housing with a kitchen is the best way to accommodate for veganism and vegetarianism, especially since the Co-op is gone.

“I literally don’t even eat on campus now,” said Shyla Cadogan, a junior dietetics major who eats vegan. “I just eat whatever I get grocery shopping, because the Co-op was the only option for me that was healthful.”

Panday said that she also doesn’t eat on campus anymore due to the Co-op shutting down and the dining halls not being the best option for her.

“The biggest reason why I stopped getting a dining plan and really wanted a kitchen was because it made no sense for me to pay all that money only to be able to eat 25% of the food offered at the dining halls,” Panday said.

Panday eats at the Green Tidings food truck at the Famer’s Market, but that’s only available once weekly.

Cadogan said the only comparable option to the Co-op, besides cooking for herself, is the hot bar in Whole Foods in Riverdale Park.

The Co-op provided options that were not only healthful and vegetarian/vegan friendly, but also affordable.

“It’s worth mentioning how fair the prices were and that we [were] offered the opportunity to volunteer and earn meal credit,” said Ballas. “There’s nowhere else that provides opportunities like that for those who cannot afford or do not want to spend money on food.”

All interviewed agreed that there should be better vegan options on campus.

“It would only make sense to have more plant-based foods on a campus that prides itself in sustainability,” said Panday.

In the end, losing the Co-op not only means losing great options for vegetarians and vegans, but it also means losing a great environment in which people can collaborate.

“The Co-op was such a unique place in that it really allowed people to learn about topics they weren’t hearing about in other locations,” said Ballas. “The Co-op was such a safe and conducive space for growing and learning.”

Panday agreed: “When UMD decided to close the Co-op, it lost so much more than food for vegans. It lost a student-led liberation dedicated to empowerment, inclusivity, and community. And honestly, there isn’t anything else like that on campus.”