Senior staff writer

Most students with meal plans never realize how much they pay for a meal. They see a lump sum on their tuition bill but may never have wondered what the figure broke down to per meal. Depending on their meal plans, students may be paying up to $3.75 more per meal than diners who pay cash at the door.

ìI canít see how anyone in good conscience would deceive students into paying excessive prices for meal plans,î senior Joel Sember said. ìIt is obvious to me that the university does not have the best interest of its students in mind.î

Five of the eleven meal plans offered charge more than the $6.75 dinner charge posted at the cafeteria and Binz doors. Two plans are for sophomores, juniors and seniors, two are for juniors and seniors, and one is for seniors only. The single dinner prices for those meal plans range from $7.58 a meal for the eight-meal plan to $10.50 a meal for the four-meal plan. The plans are set up for weekly meals in a 15-week semester, and their costs vary depending on the number of meals and flex dollars each plan has.

The extra built-in costs are charged because of the flex dollars, which students can use at every food outlet on campus, said Todd Empanger, director of food services.

ìThe flexibility of board plans costs the residents money,î Empanger said. ìYou are paying for convenience to eat where you want on campus.î

Having that convenience costs money, because the majority of students use their flex dollars at places other than the cafeteria.

ìThe Pit Stop, Scooterís and The Grill need to be paid for too,î Empanger said. ìThatís where the extra money goes.î

Empanger said those places operate with very little cash because of the use of flex dollars.

Only the plans that have a large number of flex dollars charge over the normal $6.75 dinner price, because they will be used at more places than the cafeteria, Empanger said. Also, the fewer meals a student has, the more likely he or she will use all of them.

A freshman or sophomore with a 12- to 19-meal plan will probably not use all of the meals, so they have a lower price per meal. If a meal is missed on any plan, it does not carry over from week to week. Students with the larger meal plans must make every meal to get their moneyís worth.

Sophomore Lindsey Feuling has the eight meal plan with 200 flex dollars.

ìI am using all my meals this semester so I donít waste money like I did before,î she said. ìI feel bad for the freshmen who canít eat all their meals in a week. I think itís dumb that you canít let other people use your extra meals so they donít go to waste.î

Some students think the price paid per meal should be made clear on the meal plans.

ìI think it should be printed out when you swipe your card what the actual price was so you know what you are paying,î sophomore Christine Malovrh said. ìPeople think their meal costs $6.75, but they actually could be paying up to $10.50. Next year I will probably put money on my express account instead of getting a meal plan.î

Empanger said the dinner price could be higher.

ìThe reason we keep it at $6.75 is to make the cafeteria more accessible to everyone and to spread out the people from Scooterís and the Grill since they get so crowded,î he said.

The money the university gets from meal plans goes into a general food service fund, Empanger said. The university does not make a profit from the meal plans, because the money pays for utilities and other aspects of food service, he said.

Students still feel they are being deceived.

ìIf the university does not correct the situation for the upcoming fall semester, students should cancel their meal plans and pay per meal,î Sember said. ìI would like to see the department at fault issue an apology to students.î

Jana Hollingsworth can be reached at jlhollingswo@stthomas.edu