Food is a key player in human survival. And now in Starkville and on campus there are more options for students, faculty and friends. From Panda Express in Colvard Student Union to Oriental Express Cuisine on Highway 12, Starkville has never seen this much variety of restaurants.
Eddie Keith, director of Colvard Student Union, said in 1966, there were very limited choices in Starkville.
“Now there are a great variety of good choices and prices,” Keith said.
This variety includes Panda Express, which replaced Sbarro’s pizza in the Union, as well as Buffalo Wild Wings, O.E.C. and, coming to town soon, Newk’s Express Café.
Freshman chemistry major Lee Moseley said having variety in Starkville makes it feel more like home.
“I eat at places like O.E.C. at home all the time,” Moseley said.
As new students are getting comfortable with Starkville and Mississippi State, returning students and Starkville citizens are also becoming familiar with the growth that has taken place. Buffalo Wild Wings, located on Spring Street, opened on Aug. 15. 
“We gave away free wings to our first 100 customers.  We had students that camped out all night,” Buffalo Wild Wings operations manager and partner Scott Easton said.
But Buffalo Wild Wings is interested in being more than just a restaurant and hangout in Starkville.
“We are here for the community and we want to give back,” Seth Daugherty, kitchen manager of Buffalo Wild Wings, said.
Already sponsoring activities at Starkville Academy and Starkville High School, the restaurant will succeed according to Daugherty and Easton.
“It covers all aspects from families to the single guy who loves sports. People love sports and chicken,” Daugherty said.
There is just as much buzz about the recent changes happening on campus as well. 
“Aramark (the food company that supplies MSU) is a big corporation and they continually talk to people at other places and survey students to see what’s popular,” Keith said.
Keith said Aramark tries to give students the options they want at the prices they want.
In the near future, there is talk of food options (like Village Pizza in Zacharias Village,) coming to the south side of campus, where Cresswell, Hathorn, South and Rice Halls are located.
“There are over 20,000 students, and they are hungry,” Keith said. “We are going to need every inch of space we got.”
MSU and Starkville are growing and these new additions are proof.
“Starkville is going to continue to grow because new businesses just tend to bring more people with them. It makes the city more pleasant to stay in,” sophomore elementary education major Ashley Evans said.
“We are very proud to be here and involved in the community. We are excited for the future in Starkville,” Easton said.