ABIGAIL MILLER
Special to The Leader
Over the past couple of years, SUNY Fredonia has changed tremendously. The COVID-19 pandemic created multiple issues, and chief among them are low enrollment and inflation.
These shifts are reflected in the rise in cost of Fredonia’s meal plans. The changes in the meal plans have involved both an increase in cost and in the amount of food offered.
Meal Plan #1 has faced the biggest change. It costs $250 more, and includes two more meals per week and about 100 more points.
The cost of Meal Plan #2 increased by $200, and it includes the same amount of meals per week as before, but 100 more points.
Meal Plans #3, #4, and #6 follow the same design as Meal Plan #2, incorporating the same amount of meals per week as before, but with 100 more points.
Meal Plan #3 costs $250 more, and Meal Plans #4 and #6 cost $350 more each, respectively.
The cost of Meal Plan #5 increased by $350 more as well, which translates to 350 more points considering that no meals are included in this plan.
Meal Plan #7 and #8 cost $50 more, which translates to 50 more points each. Meal Plan #9 (Plan C-75), the commuter plan, was the only meal plan that did not change in any respect.
Many students have been looking to Darin Schulz, executive director of SUNY Fredonia’s Faculty Student Association (FSA), for answers.
Schulz said that these changes are the result of a “very detailed” process where FSA “[does their] best to keep the increase [in cost] as small as possible.”
According to Schulz, the main reason that the cost of the meal plan has increased is due to the inflated costs for both food and labor. However, this is not the only factor that he said has led to a shift in the prices of meal plans.
“The university has downsized … [which] puts significant pressure on the meal plan … [because] speaking to enrollment, that’s our number one factor as far as our revenue,” Schulz said.
In regard to the increase in the food included in each meal plan, Schulz mentioned food insecurity.
“I wanted to make sure that, [in regards to] food insecurity, there [would be] a way for a student on Meal Plan #1 to never be hungry,” he said.
Schulz also echoed this sentiment through the increase of points in the other meal plans.
When asked about whether he believed that students are getting a fair amount and quality of food for the cost of the meal plans, Schulz said, “The biggest hurdle that we have when we talk about value is that we need to make sure that there’s food available for every student … every day of the week.”
Schulz explained that one of his biggest priorities is to ensure a wide variety of food on a daily basis.
“We want to accommodate all eating preferences, whether it be vegan, vegetarian, etc.,” Schulz said. “We want to mitigate allergen exposure as well, which adds to costs.”
Schulz vocalized that “one of the best ways to get your value out of your meal plan … is to get a meal swipe at Cranston.” He explained that the buffet-style dining experience allows students to make the most out of their meal plan and to get the best bang for their buck.
Schulz mentioned the array of options that are now avaliable at Cranston and Willy C’s as well. At both locations, he said that FSA has significantly worked to improve their menu this year and quality of the items.
However, in an interview conducted with a sophomore student who has lived on campus for the past two years and has purchased meal plans both years, they were asked what they would modify about the meal plan system if they could change one aspect. The student has chosen to remain anonymous.
“You should be able to start using your meal plan [swipes] at the C-store. As a vegetarian, it’s hard for me to trust that the food in the dining halls has not been cross-contaminated,” they said. “At the C-store, even though the food is unhealthy for me, I am able to trust that it hasn’t touched meat. I’m wasting all my points [at the C-store] because that’s all I trust to eat.”
The same student voiced their frustrations regarding changes that have occurred.
“We weren’t really told anything about them,” the student said.
When asked what could be a beneficial way to update students on new changes, the student said “[While] sending a mass message with a presidential email could help … it’s not so much sending an email as it is sending the email at the right time so that there is as little confusion as possible among students.”
Overall, it is safe to say that some students have differing opinions on the changes that are currently being made to the meal plans.
Schulz responded to some of the negative reception by putting the meal plans at Fredonia into SUNY-wide perspective.
“[University at Buffalo] is the most expensive in SUNY; [it costs] significantly more than us. Cortland is by far much cheaper than we are but you have the least amount of choices,” he said. “SUNY Oneonta is very inexpensive as well … but you can’t use your meal plan at [their] Starbucks.”
Schulz believes that, in order to form a holistic understanding, students must first take into consideration the ways that Fredonia’s meal plans compare to other SUNY schools.
Schulz is candid about his feelings regarding student feedback and the negative factors associated with the changes.
“It’s unfortunate that the meal plans cost as much as they do … It’s very hard because it is very expensive, and I don’t shy away from [acknowledging] that,” Schulz said. “It’s just the nature of where we are with the cost of labor, the cost of food and providing all the options we need to provide and want to provide for the students.”