On college campuses around the nation, food courts have become a more popular on-campus food provider for many college students. However, on the campus of UTM, do we have enough options to keep our students fed?
The average meal plan is $4,500 per year on campus. Fortunately, the most expensive meal plan on our campus is the Carte Blanche + $100 in Captain’s Cash. This meal plan costs $1,696.00 per semester and gives the user 19 meals per week and an additional $100 in Captain’s Cash to use at any dining location on campus.
The restaurants that are available in the food court are Chick-fil-a, Mein Bowl and Sandella’s Flatbread Cafe. The Skyhawk Dining Hall is all-you-can-eat for every meal, seven days a week. There is also The Hangar, Captain’s Coffee, a Simply-To-Go Kiosk located in Gooch Hall and On The Fly located in the UC.
If you take away the last options, there are very few left to choose from. The latest that any of these stay open is 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday and that’s only Chick-fil-a. Most options close two to three hours earlier, or are only open for a short period of time.
Being a college student, there are several late nights of studying in the library. When Sandella’s Flatbread Cafe closes at 3 p.m., that eliminates an option. When the dining hall closes at 7:30 p.m., that eliminates two options. When Chick-fil-a closes at 10 p.m., that leaves you with no options.
Some students may be enrolled in late evening or night classes and miss the options before they close or like many students, just get burnt out on eating the same food options over and over again.
Allergies such as nuts, dairy and soy also come into play with having enough dining options for all students. 1 out of every 3 Americans follow a specific lifestyle diet whether it be due to allergies, dietary restrictions or diseases. There are arrangements made when this comes into play, but it limits the choices that those students have to choose from.
Pricing is another factor to consider. Prices tend to be more expensive on college campuses. This could be because of labor costs, facilities, student demands for more high quality foods or profit. But once a student runs out of meals and/or Captain’s Cash, obtaining food can be more of a challenge.
As a transfer student from Austin Peay State University, I personally am used to having a plethora of options. In addition to the cafeteria, the campus also has over 10 different options to choose from that are included in our meal plan.
The most expensive meal plan is the W14 which includes 14 meals per week and $350 Plus Dollars, APSU’s version of Captain’s Cash. This meal plan costs $1875 per year. This is the meal plan that I had as a student and I felt like I got very good use out of it.
With Martin being such a small town and the UTM campus being one of its main attractions, more food options should be included in the meal plan.
Another great option would be having the ability to use your Captain’s Cash at local off-campus partnered restaurants. Middle Tennessee State University partners with a few restaurants off-campus that allow you to use your FlexBucks, which are included in your meal plan, to purchase food.
So the question still remains. Do the cafe and food court have enough food options to keep our students fed? Yes. There are options that each student could use in order to stay fed.
The better question is: do the cafe and food court provide a large enough selection to satisfy the student body given the price? I truly believe the answer is no.
