Campus dining halls have offered everything from taco salad to chicken cosmos, and now one offers a computer to provide nutritional information.

A new computer system now testing in the McElwain Dining Commons allows students to see various facts about the meals they are served.

Scott King, project director, said health-conscious or interested students can enter particular food items and a complete nutritional chart -- including cholesterol, sodium and fat content -- is displayed.

The system will be important to students with medical conditions where a healthy diet is crucial, said Marty Grabias, member of the Residence Halls Advisory Board. Vegetarians can also use the system to plan better meals, he added.

Chuck Wakefield, McElwain Dining Hall manager, said the program is easy to use and geared toward a wide range of eating habits. The program does not display facts about beverages and salad items. Students can find that information for themselves, Wakefield added.

"The students are our customers," he said. "So we try to be as sensitive to as many needs as we can while still serving everybody."

The project began in response to student requests to know what goes into their food, he said.

"Students are more aware of what they're eating," said Lisa Wandel, assistant director of food services. "And they're more interested in having healthy diets."

Penn State is the only university to use such a system, Wandel said, adding that if the program is popular, the computer will be installed in other dining halls Universitywide and eventually other schools.

The project uses equipment that food services already owns and does not cost the University anything, King said. The goal is to help students' eating habits not to gain profit, he added.

Before the project began, the dining halls offered printed lists and booklets of information.

Wakefield said the responses he has received from students have been promising, but one student does not plan to use the computer.

"I might not use it except if I have a particular interest," said Michael McDonagh (freshman-engineering).

King said once students are comfortable with the computer and know how to use it, they will find it helpful.

The computer is not intended to change the students' diets, but to provide students with information about eating alternatives for people who want more than popular foods, he said.

"They're not going to stop eating french fries, but at least they'll have the opportunity to make a healthier choice," Wandel said.