One of the benefits that comes from a student’s meal plans is the amount of flex dollars received that can be used throughout the semester. The amounts differ based on what kind of meal plan a student is on, obtaining $75 for the 18-meal plan, $125 for the 15-meal plan, $110 for the block 180 plan, $37.50 for commuter’s block 75 plan, and none for the 10-meal plan. The most common places that students use their flex dollars are at the on-campus coffee shop, Common Grounds, or the newly opened C-store located in Christy Suites.
After interviewing multiple students including David Grandel, Cloee Reding, and Alexia Hanson, the common conception was that the drinks are a fair price for what they are, but the food is not worth it. This is especially true when you compare it to the fact that you can get the exact same thing with a side at the hub, and it only costs you a meal swipe. One prime example of this price difference comes from Reding, who stated that the snacks at Common Grounds drain her campus account too fast. She enjoys getting drinks and snacks, but in the long run would rather take a trip to Walmart and save precious flex cash. The way Reding sees it, taking the trip to Walmart allows one to get more bang for his buck as it is all coming from your own pocket anyways.
Grandel and Hanson backup Reding’s opinions when it comes to the food items draining campus accounts too fast. When it comes to the drinks, Hanson and grandel enjoy the convenience of having places on campus to get a quick coffee, tea, or soda. Even though it may be more cost effective to buy packs of drinks from the store, it is nice to have the option right here on campus.
In a brief investigation of the prices at the C-store and Common Grounds, the reason as to why items from the C-Store are so drawing became more clear. Drinks at the C-store cost between $2.25 to $5.00, and the snack/meal items cost between $1.00 to $6.00. Looking at the items on their own, these amounts don’t seem like that much, but when students purchase multiple items at a time, or get them pretty often, it starts to add up.
The biggest thing to compare to these prices is what one pays at Walmart or Dollar Fresh. At both places, a 6-pack of BUBBL’R costs about $7, which means each drink costs a little over a dollar. For the amount of BUBBL’Rs or similar drinks that can be seen around campus, it seems like purchasing beverages in bulk from the grocery store is the most practical way to spend the money on drinks. After all, once all a student’s flex dollars are out, it turns back to spending money from their own pocket. The cost of food is also up for debate, especially when it is compared to the amount of food students can get off of a meal swipe at the Hub. The difference between the cost of a full meal compared to snacks makes students wonder why the same things provided by the same people at the same place have such an extreme difference when flex cash is the method of purchase. This is especially true for the students on the 18-meal plan. Though this plan resets every week, you are not fully getting what you are paying for if you don’t use all of your swipes. It is certainly a possibility that all those swipes would be used if you could use them at more locations.
Is paying for the convenience enough of a reason for prices to be the way they are? Or is it possible for them to be up for debate and negotiation? At this current time, it seems like students are willing to pay. After all, everything is still being sold.
Photo submitted.
