The 2018–2019 academic year ushered in the start of Meal Plan A+. This new meal plan is the most expensive option, costing students $3,750. According to Associate Vice President for Hospitality Services Amy Andrews Muñoz, this plan was originally suggested to fill a need of student-athletes on campus.
“It [Meal Plan A+] was actually a suggestion from a student-athlete that initially piqued our interests,” Muñoz said.
According to Muñoz, the student athlete who initially proposed the idea graduated two years ago. Muñoz said that while she could not name the student, he informed Muñoz that he used to run through all of Meal Plan A, having to put supplemental money on his account in order to eat.
According to the dining services website, students on Meal Plan A+ have $2,125 to spend over the course of a 16-week semester, coming out to $133 per week and $19 per day. In contrast, students on the most popular plan, Meal Plan B, have $1,705 to spend over the course of a 16-week semester, coming out to $107per week and $15.32 per day. There are currently 51 students on Meal Plan A+, far exceeding Muñoz’s initial estimation that approximately 20 students would sign up.
“I was shocked by how many people chose to sign up for it,” Muñoz said.
Muñoz said the decision-making process to create Meal Plan A+ began with the creation of a confidential committee that considered input from a part-time athletic coach. Running out of meal plan money can be a constant stressor for student-athletes who have a large daily caloric intake, according to football player Zeke Ebieshuwa (sophomore).
“I mean, being a student-athlete definitely had some influence on my switch to Meal Plan A+,” Ebieshuwa said. “But it was also influenced by my need to consume more food.”
As a student last year, Ebieshuwa said that he was unable to eat the amount he needed on Meal Plan A, which requires spending approximately $16.57 per day. Ebieshuwa says he spends approximately $9 per meal, totaling $27 per day. According to Ebieshuwa, being on Meal Plan A+ will allow him to eat more meals on campus this semester.
“I am not concerned about having too much rollover,” Ebieshuwa said. “I eat often enough where I shouldn’t really have to worry about it.”
Meal Plans A+, A and B all have potential rollover capabilities at the end of each semester, according to Occidental’s dining services website. Rollover is calculated based on the difference between the cost of Meal Plan C and the unspent value of the other chosen plan. The maximum amount of rollover is $310 for Meal Plan B, $450 for Meal Plan A and $720 for Meal Plan A+. This rollover money can be utilized by students during summer or winter break if they are on campus, and by students choosing to live off campus, according to Muñoz.
Currently, Meal Plan B is the most popular plan on campus with 1,750 students on the plan this semester. Additionally, Meal Plan B is included in the majority of financial aid packages, according to Muñoz.
“Financial aid and the cost that we [dining services] quote is based on [the price of] Meal Plan B,” Muñoz said.
The dining services website notes that Meal Plan A+ is not recommended for first years, although some first-year student-athletes — such as football player Trey Kalauli — chose it.
“Being an athlete definitely played a large role in choosing my meal plan,” Kalauli said. “When I saw that Meal Plan A+ was recommended for athletes, I figured I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
The ability to have rollover into the next semester and the option to change meal plans were both important factors in the decision-making process, according to Kalauli. Currently, Kalauli only spends around $5–6 per meal.
“I think I would have been just fine with a cheaper meal plan,” Kalauli said. “I’m not eating nearly as much as I thought I would this semester.”
Muñoz drew comparisons between the introductions of Meal Plan A+ and Meal Plan D, which the college launched approximately 10 years ago to fill a need for the student population. Meal Plan D was initially designed for students living off campus who were not required to get a meal plan, according to Muñoz. It took five years to gather initial data about Meal Plan D, and Muñoz expects it will take at least as long to understand the initial results of Meal Plan A+.
Since Meal Plan A+ was implemented this semester, Muñoz said it is hard to tell what greater impacts this new meal plan will have on food waste and food production within the Marketplace.
