<p>This can vary depending on the prevailing campus culture. At my LAC, the large numbers of vegetarian/vegan students, presence of dining co-ops…including some which cater to vegetarians/vegans, and widespread acceptance means that there are more vegetarian/vegan options than I’ve seen at some larger universities back when I was in college.</p>
<p>Plus, if the vegetarian/vegan dish being prepared is tasty, non of us meat-eaters are going to care. :)</p>
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<p>That’s much more flexible and generous than most colleges/universities I know of. Most colleges I’ve been to schedule mealtimes in inflexible and IMO…excessively early timeslots such as dinner being scheduled from 4-6 pm at many places. </p>
<p>This tends to be an issue as many colleges still have scheduled classes during that period and some like yours truly never ate dinner THAT EARLY growing up. </p>
<p>I’ve had to skip breakfast, lunch, and dinner time slots at various times during undergrad because one or more of my classes/labs were scheduled during those mealtimes. </p>
<p>Thankfully, my LAC had what’s called “4th meal” which was scheduled from around 11 pm till early am for those of us who missed one meal during the day. </p>
<p>Many colleges, however, don’t have that level of flexibility which doesn’t match what you described at UWisc-Madison. And delivery…whoa. Now THAT’S service. :)</p>
<p>Considering that a large percentage of colleges are mainly commuter schools (consider all of the community colleges and non-flagship state universities serving mainly students in the local area), that statement cannot be true.</p>
<p>However, it is more likely to be the case for a college to require dorm residents to have meal plans.</p>
<p>While a for-profit business needs to make a certain amount of positive profit to satisfy its shareholders, a non-profit or public business (like many colleges) also needs to reach a threshold of profit (zero). It cannot make negative profit over the years and expect to stay in business.</p>
<p>DS doesn’t like the food at his college either but there is nothing he can do about it except eat a lot of apples and bananas. Are we over paying? Yes! I feel bad for you and all the other kids that end up with the mandatory food plans. But it’s part of the cost of going to the college.</p>
<p>I have to say even though he really doesn’t like the food I can’t imagine deciding on a college based on how the dorm food is unless you have specific food allergies.Although some colleges tours did talked on and on about how great the dorm food was and how you could eat 24 hours a day…</p>
<p>I completely sympathize with this post. I thought the options I had were unhealthy and not very good, and I could have eaten better for far less money at many of the restaurants around. Our price scale was similar to what the OP listed. I was thrilled when I was able to start cooking for myself.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that there are good alternatives, but I don’t really understand all the “suck it up and deal with it” posts. Almost all colleges overcharge for many people for their meal plans. I do understand about the overhead, but I can go to a restaurant with table service and pay for dinner for less than $17 including tip, and have leftovers for dinner the next day. Yeah, they do probably waste a lot of food because of the buffet style, and they do have those people that love the all-you-can-eat and take fourths, but for a lot of people, it’s really a ridiculous waste of money. They should be paying for a salad bar that make them sick because that’s how the system works? I gave up on omelets at my college after the person making the omelet told me that if he put the cheese on it while the egg was still in the pan, which would melt it, it would burn the cheese, so he couldn’t do that.</p>
<p>And many people do not see college meal plans as an opportunity to eat balanced meals. They eat soft serve or cereal for dinner.</p>
<p>I’m considering all cost, including meal plans in my final decision. I also know that once I send my deposit I’m obligated to honor all parts of my obligation, tuition, dorm, meal plan and fees. I also have ensured that I have eaten at every school I’m applying to, lunch and dinner. In other words, I don’t plan on entering into a contract I can’t afford or won’t be happy with…</p>
<p>OP, I don’t know where you go to school, but it basically sounds like you want the university to make a special exception for you because you don’t like the food and because it is expensive, especially because of your food preferences eliminate many of the choices available from your consideration. You haven’t shown any reason they should treat you any differently than any other student required to live on campus.</p>
<p>Many schools require students to live on campus for a year, or two years, or even all four years, and require their students to have meal plans, because those schools prioritize some of the communal / social aspects of living in a college community and recognize that a lot of those aspects are maximized by students sitting over a meal together.</p>
<p>It’s also a way for schools to ensure that the students away from home for the first time have a chance to eat healthy, balanced, nutritious meals. When S1 initially overspent his budget, his social life was impaired for a while–but I didn’t need to worry about his not having food to eat.</p>
<p>With a meal plan, parents don’t need to worry about a student’s food budget going to beer or pizza or new clothes</p>
<p>With a meal plan, parents and schools don’t need to worry that a student will eat nothing but pizza or ramen noodles or protein bars.</p>
<p>The idea that you could eat well on just $900 to spend at school cafes, etc is probably not doable–have you tried to look at the prices of choices at those options, and figured out a diet that is appropriate on that budget?</p>
<p>Definitely work with the campus nutritionist, and learn how you can make the available options work for you.</p>
<p>$900 is about $8.50 per day or less than $3.00 per meal. There is no way that you can get sufficient, healthy calories for that much at a campus cafe. It just isn’t possible. </p>
<p>I completely understand you don’t like the choices available and I agree that speaking with the nutritionist is your best option but frankly the rule about fr/so being required to be on a meal plan is in place for young adults exactly like you who don’t have enough of an understanding about what is required for a healthy diet and how much that costs.</p>
<p>Every college would LOVE TO HAVE PARENTS BELIEVE THIS, but this motivation isn’t the most important or even seriously put into practice depending on the college and food service contractor. </p>
<p>Especially considering there were a couple of parents on this thread who recounted themselves or had children actually get sick from the dining hall food being served. I’ve also seen plenty of dining hall meals which were little better than what you get from fast food places…and they were less appetizing to boot. </p>
<p>The levels of healthy, balanced, nutritious meals could also vary within the same given college depending on the dining hall contractor hired as I found with one friend’s university when they fired one contractor which used to serve abysmal quality of food* for a far better contractor which served food resembling those one would find at a decent sit-down restaurant. The contrast was quite apparent. </p>
<p>Incidentally, the food at my LAC was fine IME, but I know this wasn’t universal. Also, some colleges such as Cornell are popularly known for having the best dining hall food in the nation. </p>
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<li>Recalled one incident when I happened to be dining with them at the dining hall under the old contractor and we were wondering where the palpable disgusting smell of garbage was coming from. After a little while, we found it was coming from the very main entree belonging to one of his hall mate friends.</li>
</ul>
<p>I agree with those who say the OP hasn’t made a convincing case for exemption from the school’s policy, which is part of the package the OP signed up for in choosing a college. But this should be a caveat to HS juniors and seniors and their parents, especially if the student has special dietary needs or strong dietary likes and dislikes. There really is a huge variation in the quality and range of meal choices offered by college food services, and in the range of choices of meal plans and the degree of flexibility built into those plans. This probably shouldn’t be an overriding factor in choosing a college, but it is legitimately a factor, and for some people a rather important one; for others, less so. But if these issues matter to you (or your student), it bears careful investigation of every college you’re considering, because they’re not all alike in this regard.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that while colleges and universities run their food service on a not-for-profit basis, that is not true of the commercial food service vendors that many colleges now contract with. They’re in it for a profit. In an effort to control costs, many colleges have opted for the lowest-bidding vendor in a competitive bidding process. Those vendors are often large national or international food service providers, and they’re looking to make a profit. To do so they’ll want to squeeze costs, which sometime may lead them to skimp on the quality and variety of what’s provided. Simply put, if you’re into fresh, local, organic, or fair trade, you’re not likely to find much of it if the food service is provided by a giant national corporation looking to put meals on the table at the lowest possible cost. If you’re not as picky and just looking for the lowest cost, the mega-vendor may be just your ticket. Other colleges have gone in the opposite direction and contracted with high-end corporate caterers; students at those schools will often pay premium prices for their meal plans, but some may calculate it’s a worthwhile trade-off, while others may regard such high-end food services as an unnecessary luxury. Still other schools do most or all of it in-house, with varying results. But whether your principal concern is price, flexibility, quality, variety, or special dietary needs, you’re better off knowing what you’re getting into at the front end of the bargain.</p>
<p>UCB, exactly. They have to cover their costs, not make money on the meal plans. Profit is not the motive. And yes, Debbie, most college food services are contracted. The colleges pay the food service providers, the students pay the college. Again, they are covering their costs. I don’t know about you, but I want colleges concentrating on education. Food service providers can do what they are best at too. If most colleges provided their own service, I’m guessing the quality would be even worse. </p>
<p>I disagree with the poster who said that most colleges use the cheapest contractor. In fact, it is a trend that most universities are moving away from economy food service providers, such as Aramark, in lieu of providers who prepare fresh, more organic, locally grown ingredients, such as Bon Appetit. I could name several examples from just this past year. While this change pleases many who value healthy foods made from scratch, it usually deters picky eaters. Either way, someone is not going to be happy. </p>
<p>Point being- universities main priority is to do what it thinks their demographic of students would be happiest with, as long as the costs are reasonable and they believe they can cover the costs with student dining packages. Its also important to note that many food service providers such as Aramark, Sodexo, and Bon Appetit make routine gifts to the universities they are employed by (read: annual support- dining halls, annual fund, etc)</p>
<p>Another great thing about these providers is that they are paid to provide healthy alternatives to those with allergies. Colleges consider this factor when hiring them. Again, I don’t want the university to be in charge of feeding my kid with allergies. Let the food experts cover that base. </p>
<p>Leonard put it this way: “I’m feeding 5,000 people a day with fewer than three complaints a month; that’s success by any measure. And these are college kids; they’re genuinely hungry. It’s so much more gratifying to feed these people than to try and satisfy a jaded diner in a fine-dining restaurant.”
Eric Leonard was formerly the chef at The Hunt Club, in the Sorrento Hotel. He knows what fine dining is.</p>
<p>This is why it is important for kids to have SOME, even minimal, cooking skills when they head off to college. The lowest cost meal plan option can be supplemented by the occasional quick and nutritious home made meal in the dorm kitchen, if your room or suite has a kitchen. If not, be inventive and head to the nearest supermarket deli section every now and then for a decent sandwich and fruit and frozen vegetables.</p>
<p>Last year I had a nice, long discussion with one of the higher-ups at a major food service vendor whose major accounts are colleges. The colleges dictate the food served and the cost to students. Many add in a cost multiplier on top of that and use the food service as a profit center. </p>
<p>Commercial food vendors operate on very thin margins and control neither cost nor quality. The food choices and the price are controlled by the college. Blaming Aramark/Sodexo/Chartwell is a bit like blaming Safeway when you ate Beefaroni instead making your own pasta and sauce.</p>
<p>The OP has long since disappeared. Most likely after being reminded in post #25 to think about people starving in Africa and concentration camps.</p>
<p>I haven’t disappeared, I just don’t have anything really to add to the discussion at the moment. I’m not going back to school till Sunday, so I have not even sat with a nutritionist yet to see what meals I can make.</p>
<p>For those who were asking about my dietary needs: As I said I’m a vegetarian, not for moral reasons, but the taste of meet has never sat with my stomach since I was young. I’m not a picky eater before anyone suggests that, I’m only like this about meat. </p>
<p>Like I said before, some of the food in the dining halls doesn’t sit well in my stomach that normally does, which I attribute to food most likely not being cooked/served properly. Also, it’s not just me that feels about the food. For example, my RA has gone to the higher up about her/residents getting sick from food. For the most part they shrug it off and say they’ll do better to manage quality. </p>
<p>I’m confused at the people saying I need to suck it up and deal. Yeah I know I’m going to school, but I’m attending a school that has over a billion dollars in endowment. Why they’re not covering some of the vendor/overhead fees for running the dining halls is beyond me so students accrue less debt on food that isn’t good/healthy. If the only “healthy” item you can offer me is iceberg lettuce I’m sorry I’m going to have a problem.</p>
<p>Some of the foods I eat for breakfast are bagels, pomegranates, half of a cantelope or cantelope, or eggs and toast.</p>
<p>Lunch foods would be sandwiches with veggies (cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, avocado) if I get meat its either tuna or a veggie patty. I also like to mix salad bowls similar to whats at Chipotle for example with guacamole, rice, beans, corn, etc.</p>
<p>Dinner I try to get good protein through fish if it’s offered in the dining halls. I also eat salads and fruit at dinner. I like things like greens beans when they have it.</p>
<p>Snacks throughout the day are pretzels and nuts, if I eat chips its the kettle cooked kind. I also like to get grapes from the store and pack them as an early snack. Next semester I have classes from 9:30 to 6:00 2 days of the week so I’ll be snacking a lot.</p>