David Came: senior in mechanial engineering, eats lunch in the War Eagle Food Court under no binding meal plan requirements. Next fall, all incoming freshmen will be required to purchase meal plans. Kyle Cooper / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
Many students are curious and concerned about the required meal plans for this fall’s incoming freshmen.
The concept of a change in dining services arose at August 2007 Board of Trustees meetings.
As originally proposed to the Finance Committee, it will apply to both on and off-campus freshmen entering this fall.
In four years, every undergraduate student will be required to purchase a meal plan.
The installation of the new meal plans will directly coincide with the completion of the new Student Center.
The new dining service is called Chartwells and will provide Auburn students with a variety of new on-campus food choices.
The options were not selected by administrators but by a panel of students who were consulted through a private firm hired by the University.
One venue at the new Student Center will be Mamma Leone’s Pizza, which will provide homestyle Italian pizza options.
Another new venue will be Coyote Jack’s Grill, which will serve fried and char-grilled chicken sandwiches and burgers.
Outtakes Quick Cuisine will provide convenience food and deli style sandwiches, wraps and salads. Chef Yan Can Cook is a venue for authentic Asian cuisine.
These restaurants will be joined by a full service Starbucks, an Au Bon Pain, which has bakery foods, sandwiches, and soups and a Chick-fil-A.
Another exciting venue coming to dining services is a facility in The Village.
The 29,000 square foot dining facility is intended to make on-campus eating convenient for residents of the new housing project, set to be complete in 2009.
David Robinson, director of business development and dining contract administrator, said the purpose of the food plan is to push toward Auburn’s commitment to living and learning communities on campus.
“Studies have shown that students who commune together in school tend to do better; they meet new friends, they build new relationships,” Robinson said.
Many members of the Auburn community are concerned the meal plan will take away significant profits from the community.
Robinson said the $300 plan for off-campus students and $995 meal plan for on-campus students are not designed to force students into eating all meals on campus.
In fact, studies have shown many students spend between $1700 and $1800 on food each semester, and these numbers do not match the costs of the required plans.
Another significant concern among many students and parents is the lack of assistance the University plans to provide to low-income students.
A mandatory meal plan places strict control on the amount of money each student must spend on food, and the entire student body is not on equal financial footing.
When administrators compare Auburn to similar universities, they see that its dining services have fallen short for quite some time.
Robinson notes it has been many years since Auburn has specifically constructed for dining.
When the University compares Auburn to other universities, it is done through a precise system.
“What we look at is a list of schools Auburn considers peers, some in the SEC, some not,” said Robinson. “We are somewhat modeling what Alabama has done, but not exactly.”
One improvement the University looks to make to its new dining facilities is extended hours of operation.
