While Florence is home to a variety of places to eat, many students will still find themselves frequently utilizing their meal plan and Dining Dollars to eat on campus.

Sodexo Dining Services currently operates each food establishment on campus, and the entire department is overseen by General Manager Alan Kinkead.

“Sodexo is a very large organization,” Kinkead said. “Here at UNA we provide dining services for students, teachers and the community.”

Sodexo currently operates Towers Dining Hall, located beside Rivers Hall, Kinkead said. The GUC offers Einstein’s Bagels, Mein Bowl, A&W Burgers, Sub Connection and Pizza Hut. World of Wings (WOW) is located inside the Student Recreation Center (SRC), and the C-Store is next door to Towers Hall, he said.

With several different options on campus and in the Shoals area, students said they have varied opinions about which is the better choice.

“I really like eating at Einstein’s Bagels,” said Richie Mata’afa, a senior. “Their breakfast sandwiches are good and they have some of the healthiest options on campus.”

Jonathan Oliphant, a junior, said he would rather eat at off-campus locations, as opposed to somewhere in the GUC or Towers Hall.

“I don’t really like any of it,” he said. “It’s overpriced and not good. If you want to get food, just walk downtown. There are a lot of local restaurants that are better and cheaper than what UNA has to offer.”

Kinkead said he eats on campus frequently, usually at Towers Hall.

“I eat at Towers more than anywhere else on campus,” he said. “There’s just such a wide variety. I really like making my own salad and all of the dessert options.”

Because World of Wings is located inside the SRC, several students said they feel like it should be removed and a healthier option introduced.

“World of Wings needs to be replaced with a fruit stand, or at least something healthy since it’s next to a gym,” said senior Amber Scivique. “A fried food place in a gym seems odd.”

Earlier this year, a student petition was started by Student Government Association Senator Julia Wimberly to have the restaurant removed. However, due to contractual issues, university officials said a new restaurant would not be moving into the space anytime soon.

With the completion of the Academic Commons Building set for spring of 2014, the university has plans to also open a Starbucks coffee shop and Chick-fil-A.

“I think having these new restaurants will make people go there instead of Einstein’s,” said junior Zach Searcy.

Managing Editor Blythe Steelman also contributed to this report.