Meal plans at MTSU can cost up to $ 3,000 — but they come with caveats like scheduling issues with vendors or limits on where the plans can be used.
This leaves some students asking, “Are the meal plans worth the money?”
The options vary based on student need, but all meal plans include a combination of FlexBucks, meal swipes and meal equivalency. First-year students living on campus are required to be on the meal plan.
Sammy Pingsterhaus, a freshman audio production major, liked her meal plan for the most part, she said, but “the meal swipes, like the food options, aren’t that good.”
She thinks that meal equivalency swipes should have more options than the university offers.
“One thing I would change about the meal plan and FlexBucks is to include Just Love on the meal swipes,” Pingsterhaus said. “I think that it is worth it if you are on campus a lot. Like, I am on campus 5-6 days a week, so for me, it’s worth it.”
Meal swipes give students access to dining halls on campus, including McCallie, Raider Zone Grill and Farmers Market. While students with a meal plan can get breakfast, lunch and dinner at many on-campus dining options, only certain places and times offer meal equivalency options.
This is where FlexBucks come in.
FlexBucks can be used at any MTSU Dining location and are MTSU’s version of a dollar. They let students purchase items on campus with their university ID rather than a credit card. Papa Johns lets students use their FlexBucks for on-campus delivery.
Many students didn’t like the fact that unused meals and FlexBucks expire at the end of the spring semester.
Susie Sullivan, a senior music business major at MTSU, didn’t get a meal plan her senior year at MTSU but has paid for the meal plan in the past years.
“I have been on it before. I had it my freshman, sophomore and junior years,” Sullivan said. “But I kind of gradually decreased [using the meal plan]. I think they got rid of a lot of good options, though.”
Meal equivalency is a third option for students to pay for food with meal plan funds.
This gives students one meal “swipe” at participating locations. Each “swipe” is valued at $7 or $5, depending on the location — Starbucks offers $5 swipes starting at 10 p.m. However, the swipes don’t always cover a full meal.
“I wish that the meal equivalency swipes were worth a little more, ’cause $7 at Chick-fil-A and many other places can only get you a sandwich,” Sullivan said.
There are benefits to the meal plan, like not having to carry cash around and having access to the 18 different options for food, MT Dining said.
MT Dining recommends students purchase the Unlimited 7-Day Plan with 450 FlexBucks — the most expensive package offered.
Sullivan disagrees.
“I do not have the meal plan,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think it is worth it. I think that it is a bit deceptive … If you are eating on the weekends, you can only eat at McCallie because the Student Union and other places are closed.”
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