Allegheny College’s big change to meal plans this fall may increase student’s number of swipes, but will greatly reduce their allowance of Munch Money.
Starting this fall, Allegheny College will implement some major changes to their student’s meal plan options. Allegheny will offer students the option of either “Gator Gold,” containing 21 swipes per week and $300 in Express Cash (Munch Money) a semester or “Gator Blue,” containing 15 swipes per week and $300 in Munch Money a semester.
This is a rather large switch from the school’s previous meal plan options. In the past, students could choose between meal plan A, which contained the largest combination of swipes and munch money, meal plan B, which had the second largest combination and meal plan C which had the lowest combination of the two.
Having these varying options gave students a chance to decide if they were going to be utilizing the school’s dining services consistently, or if they planned to be ordering out and cooking for themselves more often. While moving from three to two meal plans may not seem like a big step down, students who have chosen meal plan B for some time may feel like they’re caught in the middle, between the two options.
As for the plans themselves, the school’s main focus seems to be on equipping students with a greater number of meal swipes. While the standard Brooks dining hall swipe has remained the same, McKinley’s Food Court now allows students to use one swipe to purchase three separate entrées from any of the stations, and will include access to fountain drinks and as many sides as they desire.
However, while students’ numbers of swipes may have increased, their allowance of Munch Money has gone down significantly. With only $300 of Munch Money a semester, students will have to spend that money more sparingly than they have before. Students’ Munch Money will primarily be used to purchase the many frozen, refrigerated and pre-packaged foods and drinks that have been offered in the past. These products will be available at both Brooks and McKinley’s near their respective cash registers.
The new stations in McKinley’s this semester are “The Spread” which will serve primarily sandwiches and soups, “Limòn and Chile,” serving a Mexican style cuisine that offers burritos, quesadillas, bowls and other creations, and “Burgers + Fries,” serving the classic grilled foods such as burgers, chicken tenders, french fries and jalapeno poppers, to name a few.
In addition to the new stations, “Bento Sushi” and “The Fire Place” will both be making a return to McKinley’s. Although “Bento Sushi” can only be purchased exclusively with Munch Money, any entrée from “The Fire Place” can be purchased with a board swipe. McKinley’s will also be offering breakfast this fall at “Burgers + Fries” as another new addition to the food court.
Students will still have the option to opt out of using a swipe and can elect to use their Munch Money on meals at McKinley’s as well. This can be a handy tool to get the most out of your meal plan. Instead of using an entire meal swipe on one entrée, it may be wiser to use your Munch Money then, and save a swipe for when you can use it for its full value.
One result of this new meal change may be a decrease of student’s diversity in where they choose to dine. Since the form of payment between both Brooks and McKinley’s is now the same, some students may elect to only eat at McKinley’s, or to only eat at Brooks. This is one aspect of the new meal change that those who are fans of one dining location over the other can get behind.
The main takeaways from this change are that students’ amount of Munch Money has dropped a good deal, but by using a swipe, they are able to get a much larger amount of food at McKinley’s than they could before. Student’s have also been given a sizable increase in the number of meal swipes they have, leaving them the choice if they want to alternate between Brooks and McKinley’s, or favor one over the other.
While students may debate whether or not they support the new change to meal plans, there is no doubt that it will take some time for everyone to get used to it. For more information or any questions on the meal plan changes, students can contact [email protected]. For any questions regarding food insecurity, students can contact [email protected].