UCSD Food Cooperative

Kind of obsessed with their vegetarian tamales. And their samosas. And their Thai pumpkin soup. Their food is yummy, inexpensive, and healthy so you really can’t go wrong! I’d much rather have a meal here than anywhere else on campus. I really like the music that’s played in there too!

Local, fresh, warm food cooked by the staff with tons of dried fruits to buy. Really loved the decoration. You guys just need a Google+ Local page now :)

Cheapest and BEST food on campus. And vegetarian on top of that.
Seriously, I have compared prices with ALL the dining hall foods, and the Food Co-​op definitely has the absolute cheapest prices. For example, the Synergy kombucha was $ 4.95 at Goody’s and Earl’s Place (although they stopped carrying it this year for some reason) but the Food Co-​op has it for $ 3.75.
The hot food is charged by scoop, and you serve yourself. They also let you get «half-​scoops» if you can’t decide what you want to have for lunch. The hot food is either made by the volunteers there, or catered from local restaurants. The soup menu is always changing because the soups are made with farmer’s market vegetables, so the selection changes with the season. They usually have one or two curries every week, which is a good dish to fall back on if you’re not into the soups or tamales.
Attention Triton Cash people: The reason they don’t accept Triton Cash is that the university charges a BIG service fee from any business that wants to use it. In addition, Triton Cash REQUIRES vendors to jack up their prices so that the university can earn a bigger profit. (Basically, if Triton Cash only makes 1% on all purchases, and an item only costs $ 5, then they’re only making 5 cents per item sold, so naturally, they’re going to want the store to raise their prices as high as possible.)
Thanks for keeping prices low, UCSD Food Co-​op!

TO EVERYONE WHO HAS WRITTEN REVIEWS REGARDING THE CLEANLINESS OF THE PLACE OR ITS EMPLOYEES:
CHILL THE EFF OUT.
First of all, if you think a place that’s not just student run, but VOLUNTEER run is not clean enough for your silver spoon standards, then either don’t go there, or volunteer to help out yourself.
Second, I love this place. I actually value the predictability of the food. Their usual options are liberally spiced but not overly spicy or oily, which I appreciate. I am slowly easing into a vegetarian lifestyle and after trying many places, can conclude indian cuisine makes vegetarian food more flavorful and delicious than any other culture. So why wouldn’t the food coop make this everyday? It’s easy to serve, very yummy and I can barely tell it’s vegetarian. A win-​win all around.
They always have whole wheat breads and brown rice for A FRACTION of the cost of anywhere else on campus. Also an amazing selection of organic drinks. What I really like to is the self-​serve style of the store along with the vast selection of organic and vegan options. I spotted tofutti cream cheese as an option for my bagel today FOR THE SAME PRICE as regular cream cheese. I’ve always wanted to try this but hesitated due to the cost and commitment of buying a whole tub without trying it first. Thank you food coop for letting me sample it for only 50 cents on my bagel!
I try to come on weds especially bcus the hare krishna temple ppl’s food is AMAZING and you can stuff yourself silly with entrée, side, dessert and a drink (altho this is the only thing I don’t like there haha it tastes like syrup.) for only $ 4.50. incredible deal.
Lastly, sorry about writing a whole freaking essay but I think it’s unfair for people to rag on the employees. I personally admire them for taking the time to volunteer/​undertake the HUGE task of essentially running a restaurant+store. From what I can see, they’ve always been kind and generous to everyone. The employees at the other dining options on campus are WAY WORSE. They actually piss me off on a daily basis go hate on them instead. In fact, I’ll even help you out with a couple.
Santorini: All the employees are creepy guys staring down your shirt as you order, and they serve overfried crap on a cardboard-​like pita.
Bombay Coast: Cheap cheap cheap. I’m surprised they don’t start counting grains of rice cause heaven forbid they give you an extra one. Their shit is oversalted and more oil than spice. Not to mention the employees have trouble fulfilling simple requests like «naan on the side».
Tacone: I’m so glad this place shut down. The employees had mad attitude which is completely inappropriate when you’re charging a hefty $ 9 for a fucking sandwich. Also, all the girls on campus seem to think this or croutons is healthy. WAKE UP PEOPLE! Just because it’s listed under ‘wrap’ or ‘salad’ doesn’t mean shit. Their nutrition info obviously reflects this if you’d take the time to look.
See what we have to deal with on campus? Food Coop is a gem.

I hate to leave a bad review for a place like this, but it doesn’t really live up to its potential. The selection is skimpy, the prepared food is unpredictable. Cold, crunchy rice. Vegan apple muffins with burnt bottoms. I also don’t really appreciate the fact that the employees walk around barefoot and are generally kind of dirty. I understand it’s run by undergrads and crusty hippies at that, but you ARE preparing food. The worst was when I walked past the door when they had closed and they were in there giving hair cuts. Ugh. If the general store carried ABC cookies, I might never come back to the coop. Too bad.

Sounds like a GREAT idea and I would LOVE to support the cause but I’ve got to face it, there is no faking good food.
The food tastes like what vegan food sounds like. I can’t tell one sloppy pile of goo from the other sloppy pile of goo. Not even from a difference of colors… that’s pretty scary.
The utensils and plates that they offer are used and look really dirty and cold. I was already afraid of eating what I ordered because it was literally puke color and puke consistency, but it was also in a dirty bowl. What an awesome combination.
So, verdict: Been there, done that, tried it… not going back!

I get so bummed out about this place… I had a hummus wrap once that was awesome but everytime I’ve gone since then the place is empty. There are a handful of bagels in a bin and some dry goods stuff but nothing of any substance to eat. I’m so sick of the other food on campus that I keep coming back but have been disappointed lately (last 2 quarters).

One of the few things I miss about being a UCSD student is eating at the food co-​op. It was one place that made me feel like I was a real college student on a college campus, and not being processed and packaged through a diploma-​mill. I love the hot food bar, they tend to not have the same thing every day, but there is always something there that’s super delicious (My favorite? The somalian lentils… yum!!) You can also opt to use their wooden bowls and utensils instead of using paper plates or to-​go boxes, which I thought added a nice homey touch. I would go here to get food, sit on one of their comfy, worn-​in couches or chairs, and surf the internet or read a book while eating. The people there tend to be eclectic and/​or hippies, which was a refreshing break from all the asian nerds (irony noted). Very good stuff.

I LOVE their bagels. I didn’t know about this place until one of my lab partners always came to class with a warm toasted bagel with cream cheese in it.
I love the environment and it’s always super chill: D
I haven’t tried their curry and stuff because I’m still hooked on their bagels :)

Caveat: Yes, I used to work here. I no longer work at the Food Co-​op, having since graduated, but was a loyal customer for 3 years before joining as a general and then core member. I will try to write from my former experiences.
There is simply no other place on campus that you can get such fresh, healthy, and cheap food. The bagels are only 75 cent fresh, 50 cent for a day old, and there are plenty of vegan and non-​vegan accoutrements to go with – I’ve always been a fan of either Tofutti, or PB&J.
The hot foods used to be better. Sadly, KI’s, the former soup vendor who made the amazing vegan chili and chowders, no longer sells wholesale. The current soup vendor, Decker Brothers, sells comparable vegan and gluten-​free soups that change biweekly: my favorite is the Lemony Lentil, as many of the other soups are tomato-​based and I’m not really into that. The Somalian food was a good novelty for awhile, especially the eggplant and sambusas, but I believe they are now looking into other hot food vendors. I’ve never been into the Thai curry because I don’t like Thai style curry, but others assure me that it is amazing. Just not my taste.
My personal favorite is the hot food when made in the kitchen by core members. Eggplant, tofu scrambles, grilled tofu, soyrizo concoctions, and pasta… all are tasty, fresh, and organic. For awhile, there was even vegan phở, made by the now-​gone Jwong.
In the past, I will admit that there was a pretentious hipster vibe. I would say, however, that starting my junior year, a lot of core members changed and the space became much more welcoming. There’s always people playing music, drawing, writing, or just chatting, whether inside or right outside the store.
The co-​op welcomes volunteers, so if you go to UCSD and are looking for a place to build community, you should definitely begin here.

Come here every morning for my bagel & cheese and I love it. The bagels are delivered every morning and the cheese slices are delicious. They offer smoked gouda, provolone, cheddar, jack and swiss. The used to offer brie cheese a long time ago but no more, maybe it was too expensive? Who knows. Employees are friendly, the only downside to the store is that sometimes it opens late but that’s probably due to final exam scheduling and not the tardiness of the staff.
Loyal customer.

Not to be confused with the General Store Co-​Op! The Food Co-​Op is both great and not so great and let me tell you why.
Not so great because sometimes they are low on food and it makes me sad that I now have to go to shitty Price Center food (Panda? Subway? I don’t know wtf «Tacone» is and I don’t want to try it and as a true Mexicana there is no way in Los Mochis that I will eat there), but this isn’t their fault, they are a struggling business (WE MUST SUPPORT THEM!).
Their sandwiches have sometimes let me down (soggy bread, black avo spread) but sometimes have really brought my spirits up, it all depends how long they’ve been on the shelf. Their veggie chili is to DIE for and I couldn’t live without their 75 cent bagels.
Shop at the Food Co-​op! I’m serious!

Wow there isn’t a single review for the UCSD Food Co-​op? This place isn’t the same as the Co-​op General Store, which is more of a convenience store. It’s a great place to come for some cheap, very healthy and organic foods. I even had organic soda! It is completely student run and has a sort of hippie feel to it. The theme seems to be all-​natural, free-​trade, cruelty free, environmentally conscious foods. They have great bagels for 75 cents (it used to be 50 cents when I first came to this school) and day old ones for 50 cents. Stocked in their fridges are all kinds of cheeses. There’s even a toaster and cutting area for the bagels.
Most of the other products here are vegetarian such as the salad bar. Against the wall next to the fridges is usually a nice soup of some sort. I’ve tried the vegetarian chili and the cream of corn chowder, which is great. It’s a cheap lunch paired with a nice French baggette also for 50 cents. On occasion, they have something new. Yesterday, I just so happened to stop by and had a cup of vegetarian Thai green curry with rice for under 5 bucks. It was delicious and had a nice kick, but unfortunately, it was pretty cold.
It’s still a great place to stop by if you’re in a rush for a healthy and organic meal (they have pre-​made salads and sandwiches in the fridge), plus, you can also make your own trail mix as they have nuts and dried fruits in bulk.