Cap’n Crunch, Apple Jacks or Honey Nut Cheerios—which do you prefer?

These cereals topped an informal food service survey of students in Neptune Hall.

The survey revealed Honey Nut Cheerios and Apple Jacks as the favorites in Neptune. The “healthy” cereals, like Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes and Cheerios also fared well.

However, “sugar” cereals were by far the favorites in the Grant Towers. “Neptune is different, maybe because the students there are older,” said Diane Marty, manager at Grant Towers Food Service.

At Grant, Cap’n Crunch and Crunch Berries are the favorite, with the least favorite being Corn Flakes, Marty said. “Apple Jacks and Froot Loops are big while Cheerios and Lucky Charms are kind of popular.”

“Anything with marshmallows,” said Bryan Spargo, a freshman pre-business major. “I love marshmallows.”

Lucky Charms are the favorite of freshman Nick Miller, an engineering major. “There’s an unwritten law that you eat the marshmallows first, then throw away the cereal,” he said.

“I like Boo Berry because the ghost marshmallows scare me when I look at them and wake me up in the morning,” said Jesus Persenico, a junior elementary education major.

“I like Crunch Berries,” said freshman Andy Urnezis, a pre-physical therapy major. “They taste great and give me that warm kind of feeling. They get me excited in the morning.”

“Star Wars cereal,” said freshman Dominic Tiziano. “I love Carrie Fisher.”

“Cracklin‘ Oat Bran, Raisin Bran and Crispy Wheats and Raisins are down at the bottom,” Marty said. “Frosted Mini Wheats are not popular, probably because they don’t come out of the dispenser very well.”

Grant Food Service goes through about 2800 one-ounce servings a week, said Marty. “We go through 20 cases of cereal a week total.”

“We go through a lot of cereal at breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Marty said.

When asked why college students seem to like the sugary cereals more, Marty said she thought it was the taste. “It’s kind of confusing. Some of the cereals without added sugar sometimes have more sugar than the ‘kids’ cereals,” Marty said.

“Healthy cereals are lousy out of the box,” said freshman Michaus Williams. “Without milk or sugar, they don’t really offer anything besides nutrition.”