Vegetarian and vegan options continue to be a topic of discussion among students and Duke Dining staff as the West Union gets set to open fully next Fall.

A year after the launch of Meatless Mondays, vegetarian students at Duke continue to search for improved dining options on campus.

Duke Dining has pursued several initiatives to increase the availability of vegetarian and vegan food on campus, including Meatless Mondays in October—a celebration of National Vegetarian Month aimed to highlight the meat-free dishes offered by campus eateries. In addition, the reopening of West Union next Fall promises more vegetarian options. But catering to vegetarians’ needs during this time of transition remains a major concern for Duke Dining, said Robert Coffey, director of dining services.

“We highlight options weekly with our Meatless Monday series and recently created a video for our website to show where students can get great vegan choices across campus,” Coffey said. “We also rely on students who are on Duke Dining’s food committee, DUSDAC, that meets with dining administration weekly to get insight and recommendations for the dining program.”

Coffey noted that Duke Dining is always looking into new ways to improve its offerings.

One such improvement is a new online food management product—where customers will have access to menus, nutritional information and allergen information directly from their electronic devices. Students will be able to filter menus to search specifically for vegetarian and vegan items at all on-campus dining locations.

Coffey added that students can always talk to a manager if they do not see the option they want or are used to, because chances are it is available.

Students have mixed feelings about the vegetarian options at Duke, noting the differences between East and West Campus.

Junior Prathibha Juturu said her experience at Marketplace as a freshman was positive, as she had access to a variety of vegan and vegetarian options each day. Juturu noted, however, that the same could not be said of West Campus—especially on the weekends, when many eateries are closed.

“I believe there are few options [on West] where the meal is healthy and has enough calories to be considered a full meal,” she said.

Freshman Vir Patel said the vegetarian options at the renovated Marketplace were a “solid eight out of ten,” but added that he would like to see a fully vegetarian eatery on campus.

The range of vegetarian options on West has improved in the past few years, said senior Rebecca Passman, who cited Penn Pavilion and food truck Deli-icious as standouts. Penn Pavilion opened in Fall 2013 and Deli-icious was added to the food truck lineup in Fall 2014.

The opening of the West Union will increase the number of options all students have, as the new venue Sprout will be an exclusively vegetarian and vegan vendor.

“This is an exciting time to have these renovations nearing completion, which will provide the Duke community some of the best dining facilities and programs in the nation,” Coffey said.

Juturu said she hopes the new West Union eateries will expand upon the healthier options, such as those offered at Penn Pavilion.

“I hope that there are healthier food options in the West Union for vegetarians and vegans,” she said.

Correction: This story was update to note that Sprout will be an exclusively vegetarian and vegan option for students in the West Union. A previous version of the story said no such option would exist. The Chronicle regrets the error.