Kinder: The P.O.D. Markets lack options for students with dietary restrictions

As someone who spends most of my days on campus in classes, at club meetings or studying, I also find myself frequenting P.O.D. Markets on campus. For the past few years, I haven’t paid much attention to what is actually carried in P.O.D. Markets, as they often had the items I wanted in stock.

But, as I was browsing the P.O.D. Market at Brackett Hall looking for a Gatorade or Powerade Zero, I started to notice that the market seemed to have only full-sugar drinks. Initially, I thought this was some sort of fluke; maybe they were out of stock and had to fill shelves. Additionally, I thought maybe it was only P.O.D. Market at Brackett Hall that had this issue.

For some reason, this lack of zero-sugar options really stuck with me. As someone who tries my best to live and eat healthily, I often prefer to purchase zero-sugar options, as many drinks have far too much sugar in them. I also began to think about students with diabetes or other dietary restrictions on campus. Students who cannot have full-sugar drinks are heavily restricted in what they can purchase on campus. And for a school so focused on athletics, it shocks me that many of our markets do not have healthier drink options.

This discovery stuck with me to the point that I began to check out other P.O.D. Markets on campus to compare. To my surprise, Daniel Hall, Cooper Library and other market locations had this same issue: they were stocked with full-sugar drinks, with the sparse no-sugar options including Coke Zero, Diet Coke and Monster Zero Sugar. At first, I thought there was some sort of supply issue, so I continued to look at the markets over time, and nothing changed. There just truly is no range of options for zero-sugar drinks available for purchase.

It is unfair to students who have medical or dietary restrictions to not carry more options for zero-sugar drinks in the markets. Clemson University should make more of an effort to consider these students when thinking about what they sell at the P.O.D. Markets. It is unfortunate that the lack of options likely affects students. Even though it is a small issue, sometimes the small things are what make a big impact on a student’s experience.

Jack Kinder is a senior sociology major from Ocala, Florida. Jack can be reached at [email protected].