Students at Grand Valley State University have noticed several changes this year at campus dining venues, such as the increase of meal +1s on menus, and some people aren’t happy. Campus dining officials, in collaboration with the Student Senate, held a food committee meeting on Sept. 23 to try and address students’ concerns and to explain the reasons behind the changes.

“I think the overwhelming issue students want to talk about is the new +1s, which are being seen on a lot of things,” said Eric Cousins, Student Senate’s vice president for campus affairs.

Each year, campus dining does a market study on the prices of other campuses’ meal plans and the retail prices of food.

“We know our vendors are increasing their prices to us, and we know our costs are going up, so we try to project and agree on what we think our costs will be for the year,” said Tom Minor, a campus dining official. “It’s not unusual for us to lower prices or keep them the same, but some of them we increase.”

Market prices for food help determine the costs for meals, combos and meal +1s at GVSU.

“Food costs are high, and they continue to go up, and that’s what causes our prices to go up,” said Doug Wentworth, director of auxiliary services. “If you go to the C-Store and Meijer, you’ll find that you can buy something at Meijer cheaper because we are not a grocery store.

“Now if you go to a convenience store off campus and then go to ours, you’ll find the prices are very competitive. Same thing with like restaurants to what we have, and that’s how we determine prices.”

Despite the clamor over meal +1s, both Minor and Wentworth are proud that campus dining has been able to keep the cost of their meal plans relatively low when compared to other universities.

According to Minor, students on a meal plan pay about $4.20 to $6 per meal. To get the most economical price per meal he says students should get and use a meal plan during the school year.

“We really want to be the lowest in the state when it comes to costs of meal plans, and we want to continue to be below the state average,” Wentworth said. “Last year, the state average was over $1,900 a semester and ours is at $1,300. We sacrifice some things to keep the pricing structure that way.”

According to College Prowler, a college review and ranking system, meal plans at GVSU cost an average of $2,600 per year. Here’s how the university compares to others in Michigan:

• Michigan State University: $5,170
• University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: $3,926
• Central Michigan University: $4,272
• Saginaw Valley State University: $3,450
• Northern Michigan University: $4,322
• Eastern Michigan University: $4,497

Students who are interested in giving feedback to campus dining regarding prices, food options or other topics are invited to attend any of the food committee’s meetings, which will continue to be held throughout the year. For more information contact Eric Cousins, the student chair of the committee, at [email protected].