While a college student appreciates anything complimentary, it certainly does not mean our standards of food are any lower than the average person. Last year, I remember walking on Turlington Plaza after my morning class and grabbing a free hot dog and soda, graciously provided by a local church. For a college student, anything that is not Ramen noodles or mac 'n cheese and is also free is as good as a New York strip steak.
After my class this Monday, I dodged my way through Turlington and spotted the same familiar table. This time, I received a plastic container filled with beef jerky, tuna salad, a small can of Pringles, applesauce, a bag of cookies and a bottle of water. New York strip steak? Heck, this was a filet mignon. Then the expiration date on the water bottle caught my eye: March 22, 2009? Bottled March 22, 2007?
Suspicious, I opened the container and checked the expiration dates of the other items. Beef jerky, Aug. 19, 2009; applesauce, Sept. 17, 2009; Pringles, Sept. 2009; tuna salad - Oh, good - Feb. 2010.
Don't get me wrong, with the amount of preservatives in the food, it could probably preserve a dead body better than formaldehyde and should still taste fine. But somehow, I felt a little gypped. Is expired free food better than no food at all?
