By Todd Mathews, Staff Writer

It’s had two months to whet the palate of the CSUDH community, but Thursday everything is on the table as the LSU’s newest dining option, Everytable celebrates its official opening.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., on the East Walkway, a “handful” of select snack and beverage partners will offer free food and drink samples, and music, games and prizes will add to the festivities, said Monica Rutkowski, Everytable’s director of marketing.

The CSUDH location, which opened in late November at the former Jamba Juice location in the LSU,  is the eighth Everytable to open since it launched its first in South Los Angeles in 2016. The company’s business model is designed, in part, to offer healthier, freshly prepared food to communities that lack alternatives to fast food and convenience stores,

While the menu at every location focuses on hot to-go meals, bowls and salads, along with snacks and beverages, the pricing is adjusted to reflect the demographics of its community. For instance, the same salmon superfood salad that costs $9.50 in Brentwood costs $7.95 at the Compton location. 

The reception among the CSUDH Community to Everytable’s eight-week soft opening was “very positive,” Rutkowski said, with Toro staff and faculty “very much appreciative of a new food option…and some new grab and go options.”

Two new things to the menu are recently launched smoothies, which have been a “huge hit,” Rutkowski said, and wraps, which will be launched this week.

The menu is anything but static. Rutkowski said it will continue to evolve to meet the preferences of the CSUDH community, and something new is typically worked in “at least every three weeks, so we’ll always offer new hot bowls, salads, snacks and drinks.”

One reason CSUDH was viewed as a viable option for Everytable is the high number of students who report dealing with food insecurity, lack of access or money to buy nutritional food on a regular basis.

“We do recognize that even with our mission to keep our meals as affordable as possible, some students cannot afford a $5 burrito or a bowl,” Rutkowski said.

One way those students can obtain one is the Pay It Forward program  Anyone can purchase a meal for a future patron by adding money to their check. A token is then placed on a board near the register and anyone who can’t afford a meal that day can take a token off the board and redeem for a free meal.”

Everytable is also very “very much interested in working with the university to support ongoing programs to support food-insecure students,” Rutkowski said.