The Fresh, the go-to dining hall for students at Southern Miss, is basically a staple for any student that commutes to or lives on the Hattiesburg campus. And it seems that this includes any Golden Eagles online, as The Fresh has recently received the attention of an anonymous food critic on Instagram.
The Fresh Food Review (@usmfreshfoodreview), which started posting towards the end of January, posts a new review on food from The Fresh every day. Though a majority of the reviews are fairly positive — as of writing, the average review out of ten is seven-point-four — there have been a few scathing ones littered throughout.
“There is nothing I love more than a SINGLE meatball, soggy chips and green beans for lunch!” Fresh Girl, the creator of the account, wrote while reviewing a truly abysmal meal. “This ‘meal’ was truly horrible! […] Idk if they know[,] but people still have to eat on the weekend!”
In the few weeks it has been active, The Fresh Food Review has almost garnered two hundred followers. Most of the commenters have fun talking about The Fresh on new posts, especially when it is about a meal they really enjoy.
“Nothing goes harder than Fish Friday,” Instagram user @grace.breisacher commented on Fresh Girl’s review of a catfish meal.
“Looks tasty!” @owbarker, another Fresh Food Review fan, commented on one of The Fresh’s Italian dishes. “What a scrumptious breadstick!”
The Fresh Food Review is the latest student run account about Southern Miss. Another Instagram account, Bathrooms of USM (@bathroomsofusm), posts the good and the bad of various Southern Miss bathrooms. It even allows other students to submit their takes on bathrooms around campus.
“There’s a P in privacy[,] but no privacy in this pee,” Instagram user @davisoar wrote about a particularly cramped bathroom situation in Hickman Hall.
The identity of The Fresh Food Review’s creator, Fresh Girl, is currently unknown. They also do not tend to post outside of their food reviews, perhaps to help maintain the anonymity of the person involved.
What is known, however, is that the creator is clearly having a lot of fun running the account. They have been consistent in posting every single day, even being able to comment new things on repeated meals. Their followers also seem to have a lot of fun with the account, content with engaging with the food reviews more than the person behind the account. That’s the real appeal behind accounts like this, really. Students get to connect with others over similar topics, even if through an anonymous source, and get to do so with every new post.
Want to keep up-to-date with The Fresh, including what meals will happen on what days? Be sure to check out The Fresh Food Company’s menu at https://usm.campusdish.com/LocationsAndMenus/FreshFoodCompany. The Campus Dish also has info on other on-campus dining options, such as Subway, Oath Pizza and various P.O.D. stations. You can also check out food-based offers and events throughout campus by following @eaglediningUSM on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
