On a campus where Ben & Jerry's ice cream is the undisputed favorite snack of Penn State students, weight gain remains an issue for most.

"Twelve of the freshman 15 come from Ben & Jerry's ice cream," Bob Ervin, Good 2 Go student manager, said.

So to give students an alternative to fattening dairy products, Food Services is in the midst of introducing healthier food items in on-campus convenience stores. The effort should be completed in time for the spring semester, said Lisa Wandel, Food Services associate director.

The stores will use "better choice" and "new" tags to create awareness, she said.

Thus far the system is a success.

"We added some tags this semester to better display the products, and the more they made, the more they sold," Wandel said. "We're trying to keep up."

Lighter beverages like diet soda, SoBe drinks and Gatorade are top sellers on campus, said Jeff Boggie, Pollock dining commons assistant manager.

"Students have begun to check nutrition facts and look for health-conscious icons," Boggie said. "They like to see the health labels."

Lately the biggest trend Boggie said he has noticed in Pollock's The Mix has been the switch from prepackaged to fresh food. Items like Chef Boy-R-Dee are losing popularity, while fruit cups are becoming exceedingly trendy, he said.

In an annual online survey conducted by the dining commons, students said they wanted healthier choices

Wandel said the convenience stores are responding to that demand.

After reviewing the survey, Food Services discovered that healthier snack options, price and variety were the three changes students mentioned most often.

"They always run out of salads, and it's overpriced," Marissa Ball (sophomore-public relations) said. "I usually come for salad or the fruit cups because it's a lot better ... I can't eat all that prepackaged stuff."

In earlier semesters, students asked for the same healthy options but continued to purchase their usual items after stores added the new choices, Wandel said.

This semester is different because students have played an active role in creating healthier lifestyles, she said.

"We have an obligation to put out what's most attractive to the customers," Wandel said.

Leigh McGrath (sophomore-philosophy) said she looks through the fresh refrigerated sections because she prefers salads rather than products that have been sitting on the shelf.

To continue the healthy selection, Food Services is in the process of adding a soup bar to each of the on-campus convenience stores. Campbell's "Soup for Life Plan," which includes eating a bowl of soup every day while lowering calorie intake, will be available by mid-September, Wandel said.

Decisions about brands, flavors and other considerations have been thoroughly researched but are not yet finalized.

Penn State Food Services contacted other universities to get feedback on similar alterations to dining options, Wandel said.

Sister Maureen Schrimpe, quality coordinator and dietitian at the University of Maryland, said the school has also seen a recent trend in healthier lifestyles. Schrimpe said the change has come from a combination of what students have read, seen and heard in current media.

The University of Maryland has had their soup bar in place for the last year and has seen an increase in soup sales over time, Schrimpe said.

"I think students perceive it as a down-home comfort food that is satisfying," she said. "They don't crave more, which makes it healthy."