Meal plans set high, expensive expectations
It had been a month since I last ordered food from the wok in the Muenster University Center, and I was excited to finally eat it again when I came back from winter break. As I walked up to what was once the register, I was met with a sign that let me know that yet again, the prices had changed.
Now three weeks in to the semester, I’ve noticed Qdoba, the salad bar and other food options have adjusted their prices. But is this for better or for worse? With so much money to spend, I decided to do some investigating in to my meal plan.
As a University of South Dakota student with $739 in Flex money for this semester, I assumed that amount was how much I paid for, but this wasn’t the case. When I looked at the different meal plan options, I discovered I was charged an extra $50 on top of the $739 — which is upsetting. I could be putting that $50 toward other living expenses.
I would be more accepting of this extra charge if the food on campus was less expensive. According to the spring 2015 budget plan the university provides at every food station, I should be spending roughly $50 per week. Excluding weekends, that’s about 15 meals or snacks per week, which means I’d get to spend a total of $3 for each meal.
This does not make sense. I can go to Chick-fil-A and order a meal for about $8. If I want a healthy lunch, I can buy a small salad and 12 ounces of soup, and if I feel like treating myself, maybe an apple or a banana. The cost of this meal on campus comes out to be nearly $10, which is more than three times what I should be spending for lunch according to the suggested budget plan.
In the three years I’ve been at USD, the wok station has evolved greatly and does not let students build their own meal anymore, and they now charge students for the number of different meats piled on, leaving them with the possibility of spending $8 or more just on a main course.
In the future, it’d be great if Aramark could truly assess student’s meal plan needs. They’d find out students don’t like being charged for more than what they paid for and don’t enjoy being charged an inflated price for food on campus.
I understand the university and Aramark’s need to make some profit, but when it comes to the end of the semester and I’m struggling to pay for my food because I chose to spend more than $15 worth of Flex in one day — that’s just an added stress I don’t need during finals week.
