Every UMBC student with a meal plan has encountered "meal zoning." That's the little system that prevents you from using your meal at lunchtime if you had breakfast too late. Why does this policy exist? Is there any real reason for it? Why, if a student buys, say, a ten-meal plan, can't they choose when to use them?
The answer to this question is clouded by myths, two of which I would like to address here.
Myth #1: Meal plans are priced assuming that students will not use all of their purchased meals, and the meal zones are designed to facilitate missed meals.
Fact: This is not the case. Meal plans are priced according to how many meals could potentially be used. When you buy a ten meal plan, you are paying for ten meals whether you use them or not.
Myth #2: Meal zoning is specified in the food services contract, and therefore cannot be eliminated.
Fact: The food services contract specifies a list of "minimum requirements" that the contractor must meet. At the very least they must provide meals during the kinds of zoning rules UMBC has always had. There is nothing to say that these rules could not be superseded by a superior system.
I see no reason for UMBC to cling to an outmoded system that most other schools have long since abandoned. Some progress has been made with the so-called "unlimited" meal plan, but why not go all the way and allow students to use meals whenever and wherever is most convenient?
I propose that students be able to use their meals at any time of the day, dining hall or Commons, restricted only by the number of meals they are allotted each week. A student with a ten meal plan could use five meals on Monday, one meal each on Tuesday, Wednesday,and Thursday, and two on Friday.
The infrastructure is already in place; all that would have to be done is to lift the frustrating time restrictions. There is really no strong reason not to - it's time UMBC's food services moved into the modern era.
18 comments:
Amen!
As to Myth #1, this was not always a Myth. Oscar Bernenger himself told us that meal plans were priced assuming 25% of meals allotted would be missed, because studies showed that the average student didn't use 25% of the meals they were given over the course of the semester - so they were actually paying 75% of the total cost it would have taken to use their whole meal plan. But since approximately half of the students did this and half used ~100% of their meals, it all came out in the wash. The average also held even when taking into account the different per-week allottments.
I couldn't tell you if that's the case now, but Oscar was pretty much the authority on all things Sodexho at the time of the statement.
@Jay:
Interestingly, when Tim Tenon was made aware of Oscar's statements last summer, he all but said they were outright lies.
Look at the prices of the meal plans and do some math.
You end up paying about $7/meal for $5 "worth" of food which at COST is probably worth less than $1. I think the extra $6/meal should cover those "missed" meals.
Besides, what about people who purchase "block" plans such as 25, 50, or 200 meal blocks? It's not assumed that you don't use a percentage of these because it's not weekly- you will use them until they are gone, but you're still subject to meal zoning restrictions.
I ended up paying about $30 per week out of my pocket last semester just for food because I eat about 5-6 times a day (which some studies has shown is healthier, and I personally can't help- it's how I've always eaten.
If it weren't for meal zoning I could have used my meals at 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm, both of which times I needed to eat, but I had to pay out of pocket for that "second lunch" every day.
I ended up buying 90% of my meals at the spot or outtakes just so I could save the rest for later.
Also, meal zoning is one of the main reasons I did not purchase a meal plan this semester. Why pay $7/meal to be told I can only use $5 of it, especially when I can't use it whenever I want?
I spoke to the head of Chartwells at UMBC and he said that while other schools like Towson use the same company they pay more for their meal plan by being able to use them whenever they wish. I think that if the students had their say on which they would prefer, they wouldn't mind paying a little more for the freedom to choose when they could actually use the meals.
@Anon:
I completely agree, and in fact that's something I forgot to mention in my post. I think it'd be worth asking a bunch of students if they'd be willing to pay a bit more for increased freedom. My guess, like yours, is that they would.
I've been frustrated with the idea of meal "zoning" or times for a while now, and like minteh, often find myself frustrated that I can't eat at say 4pm when I get out of class and then again at 730 or so when I want dinner. I would most assuredly be willing to pay a little more if we could use the meals whenever. As it is, I don't use all my meals and feel like I'm not getting my money's worth BECUASE I don't have the flexibility to use them whenever. If I pay more but feel like I'm getting my money's worth then sure I'm all for it.
What i dont like is that dorm residents are required to have at least the 10 a week meal plan. Due to dietary issues I can't eat most of the food offered but have to spend thousands anyway, which i could put towards the food i buy and keep in my dorm.
@Anon:
Don't forget our students who observe religious fasts. The first one that comes to mind is Muslim students observing Ramadan, but I'm sure there are others.
My roommate was forced to skip breakfast, as sunrise was before food services opened, and after fasting all day, could only use one meal swipe to get a burger from The Grill. Of course, he paid for all those meals that went down the drain each Ramadan.
@SteelWolf
Not that I disagree about the policy being shitty, but he could've done what I often did, which was but stuff @ the spot or outtakes when i couldn't eat and then stash it in my fridge til later.
Sometimes I did that just to use up all my meals and then I'd save the food for days when I couldn't use meals when I needed them. I would sometimes go to the spot late at night and buy those french bread pizza's and just stash them in my freezer.
but it's stupid that anyone should have to do that anyway.
@minteh:
Definitely a fair point.
Its not the zoning that particularly frustrates me, its the fact that you pay $7 a meal and can only use $5 for one at the spot or w/e. In my view, its stealing, not letting you have access to money you've already paid. Especially since the prices at the spot are jacked anyway, I would still feel ripped off if I got to use all $7.
i really dont understand WHY does anyone buy a meal plan? if u live in the dorm, fine... its required but other than that i dont understand why people buy meal plans when they have to pay extra, can only eat when they are allowed to...
why not just keep that money and spend it only when u want to eat.
food on campus sux anyways.
Personally, I would NOT want to pay more for a plan that costs more and didn't have zoning. The zoning is only ever really a problem for me maybe once or twice a semester. I already feel that the meal plan costs too much for the lame food they have and I definitely don't want to pay more to have access to that lame food whenever I want instead of in zones.
I do agree with Brad Pitt, though. $5 equivalency for a meal, especially at Outtakes where everything is already over-priced, is ridiculous.
you should have the option of getting a meal plan regardless of whether you live in a dorm or not. obviously you won't starve to death and, if i'm going to spend, 1000$ that can buy a hell of a lot more groceries/meals than 180 slices of pizza and 180 cokes.
o7 anon
RE: Why does anyone buy a meal plan?
A lot of parents will pay for their kids to get a meal plan but won't just give their kids money for groceries or give their kids a credit card.
This is why we need to be able to use our red card at.....
...TADAAAA! GIANT!
(that would be... awesome!!!) =D
Is Zwybak okay?
@treeveins:
Depends...I'm the only one I can get to write for it at the moment, and I have had a lot on my plate. But getting Zwybak to a place where it can exist without me is on my list of things to do before I graduate. :P
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