College meal plans abound
Students making the transition from high school to college may be surprised by the flexibility of the meal plans available to them.
Deb Pincek, assistant to the vice president of student life at Slippery Rock University, said there are 13 different meal plans for students to choose from at SRU.
The meals plan can only be used in Boozel dining hall. Most plans also include “flex” money, which can be used as cash at dining places on campus.
The most popular is called the 19-meal level plan, which costs $1,533 a semester.
There are three options within this plan: First is 19 meals per week with no flex money, second is 15 meals per week with $255 in flex, and third is 12 meals per week with $445 in flex.
Pincek said a 15-meal plan is the default for all students, but the most popular choice is the 12 meal setup.
SRU also offers similar three-tiered plans with 14 meals, which costs $1,456, and 10 meals, which costs $1,346.
Additionally, there are two “block” plans, which give students a set number of meals for a semester.
The first offers 175 meals and $100 in flex at a cost of $1,393, and the second offers 75 meals with $50 in flex at a cost of $801.
There also is a $1,686 plan that gives students unlimited access to the dining hall and no flex money.
Commuter students can open a flex account with no meals. The minimum deposit for a flex account is $100. Commuters also have the option to buy any of the meal plans.
With all of the choices, it can be easy for students to go overboard.“We try to encourage healthy eating choices, but students have the flexibility to make those choices,” Pincek said. “It's the whole issue of choice.”To help, nutritional information is posted in the dining areas.Tom Gregg, vice president for operations at Grove City College, said there are three meal plans offered at that college.The main meal plan offers 21 meals per week. This is included in room and board for on-campus students, but the cost is $1,562 per semester for commuter students who want it.Commuter students also can buy plans that offer 50 meals or 75 meals. The 50-meal plan costs $285 and the 75-meal plan costs $535.Meals can be used at all three dining areas on campus. Nutritional information is posted in the dining areas.Bon Appétit, based in the state of California, provides the dining services for the GCC. Gregg said reasons why the college likes the company include its use of local produce and its habit of making food from scratch.Gregg said the college tries to get students to try more international foods. For example, a stir fry station in one of the dining halls is popular, he said. “There's going to be a lot of flexibility (for students),” Gregg said.And more traditional items such as hamburgers and chicken tenders still are available.Although the college encourages healthy eating, the responsibility falls to the student.“It's all what the student wants,” Gregg said.
