Penn State

Matt Campbell Says Iowa State was a “Little Bit of a Food Desert” and Seems Excited that Happy Valley has a Trader Joe’s

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: May 20th, 2026 · 11:11 AM EDT

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Penn State head coach Matt Campbell recently did a podcast with On3’s Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman, and he said something about food.

Transcribed by Ben Hutchens at the Quad-City Times:

Five months into his new job, Campbell was asked if he’s eaten at any good restaurants around State College.

“Hopefully the people in Ames, Iowa won’t be mad that I say this,” Campbell started, “but sometimes you felt like you were in a little bit of a food desert in Ames, Iowa, so number one there’s multiple options for dinner here. There’s multiple places to go out to eat and the food has been outstanding. I think the biggest win for the Campbell family is there’s a Trader Joe’s in town so that’s been a monumental win for the entire family. That won me big praise right away so I am thankful for Trader Joe’s.” 

This is maybe a 1 out of 10 on the outrage scale, though the premise itself is hilarious – comparing the food scene in Ames, Iowa to Happy Valley. This is like asking if Scranton or Wichita has the better nightclubs.

Penn State has some decent restaurants, and is home to the creamery, but nobody is confusing it for Lyon, or Naples, or South Philly. Campbell seems excited that there is a Trader Joe’s nearby, which, according to Google Maps, the nearest Trader Joe’s to the ISU campus is 50 minutes away, on the outskirts of Des Moines. We’ve got more than a dozen of them in the Philly region, so it’s funny to think about Trader Joe’s being some north star for gastronomy.

I did find a thread of Cyclone fan responses to this pseudo-controversy. It was great. They seem to have a good sense of humor out there. About half of them agreed that Ames kind of sucks and has no good restaurants. Another portion said that Campbell wouldn’t know anything about the local culinary scene since he was never spotted eating around town. Apparently he lived in some place called “Gilbert,” which appears to be 15 minutes north of Ames. Another person pointed out that he’s from Ohio and never had good food to begin with.

Then this one from a rival Hawkeye fan:

Campbell obviously never had the O-M-cheese burger from Applebees.

— Damon (@Damon6udp) May 15, 2026

The O-M Burger is wild. You seen this thing? It’s cut in half and laying down sideways:

Anyway, Penn State will win 9 games this year, minimum. There’s no Indiana or Ohio State on the schedule. The non-conference is Temple, Marshall, and Buffalo. The only long road trip is Washington.

WE ARE!

Not a food desert.