Starting next semester, the meal plans for students living in the residential halls at Emporia State will look a little different.
All residents will be able to pick between the All Access plan, which grants them unlimited access to the Hornet’s Nest and 125 dining dollars per semester, and the Block 185 plan, which includes 150 meal swipes and 325 dining dollars per semester, for the same price.
Returning students and transfer students will be able to choose the new Block 65 meal plan, which includes 65 meal swipes per semester and 275 dining dollars.
“The idea behind the meal plans is that students can get the nutrition, the food that they need and the new meal plan gives them an opportunity to choose from two that do that,” said Cass Coughlin, director of Residential Life.
Students have been asking for “lower cost and greater flexibility” through surveys and the Student Culinary Council, according to Coughlin.
The All Access plan and the Block 185 plan will both cost $1,994 per semester. Currently, these meal plans have a $48 price difference. The decision to make them the same price and add more dining dollars came from a concern that students were choosing the lower meal plan because of the cost but running out of meal swipes before the end of the semester, according to Coughlin.
“They were making decisions to save a few dollars, but it was giving them a plan that maybe wasn’t meeting their dietary needs,” Coughlin said. “And so having these two plans where it’s the same cost, it’s really just about picking the plan that fits your schedule and dietary needs.”
The Block 185 price was bumped up the $48 difference because of an increase in food costs, according to Carmen Leeds, director of the Memorial Union. The Memorial Union is a non-profit, so student fees and meal plans pay for housekeeping, maintenance, pest control and the Center for Student Involvement.
“I know meal plans seem expensive, but it’s paying for the food and the people to prepare it and for the space that you’re in to eat it,” Leeds said.
The two meal plans being the same price also makes it easier for the Union to budget, according to Leeds. Even if a freshman decides to change their plan, the Union will still be receiving the same amount of money.
The Block 65 plan will be exclusively for returning students and transfer students. Returning and transfer students will make healthier meal choices and be less likely to eat ramen everyday than freshmen, according to Leeds.
“The thought process is you have a little bit more maturity, you hopefully know how to cook a little bit better, those types of things,” Leeds said. “More so than when you’re a freshman, brand new, maybe never been exposed to cooking, or healthy cooking– maybe I should clarify that because ramen is not necessarily the best thing to have every day– that type thing.”
Additionally, the plan was made with the idea to keep students in the dorms for longer.
Students who decide to live in an apartment still have to pay for groceries and those prices are going up, according to Leeds.
“We’re trying to make housing and the meal plan more affordable for the students who are thinking ‘Oo, I want to go get an apartment and live out there,’ when we can make the cost cheaper than living in an apartment,” Leeds said. “To be able to live and eat, you can do that cheaper than living in an apartment. We were trying to make it more attractive for them because we have the space.”
