New Ways to Pay: Meal Exchanges in Dining Facilities

This semester, the Pub and Green Terrace are offering Meal Exchange options at all hours of operation. This is a change from previous years in which, with the exception of Fourth Meal, students could only pay for food at the two locations from an initial debit amount of fifty dollars, placed on their All-Card at the beginning of each semester—not from their Meal Plan. If the debit amount ran out, students deposited more money on their “big strip” with a minimum balance of twenty dollars.

“I think the renovations made to Glar last semester initiated things,” said Harriet Corbran of the Bursar’s Office. “The idea [behind the new Meal Exchanges] was to give students more choices, and I think that we’ve done that. I’ve also heard some students say that the quality of the food has improved.”

For freshmen, however, there is one restriction: they can’t go any lower than a 210 Meal Plan. “We felt that a 210 Meal Plan—offering an average of 14 meals per week— would keep freshmen healthy and nourished,” said Corbran, “It’s also a more equitable choice.Re-charging students for another plan offering fewer meals would be more expensive for them than just the initial 210.”

With new Meal Exchanges, it will be easier for students to get their money’s worth of food from their Meal Plans for the semester without forfeiting any unused funds. The pub will also soon begin accepting credit cards due to high demand from students. Meal Exchanges will also be made available in the new café in the library upon its completion.