This semester, 1,362 students are currently on the freshman meal plan, and an additional 375 students have declining-balance upperclass meal plans. Last year, only 146 upperclass students purchased a meal plan. Over the past year or so, Dining Services has made drastic changes to the structure of the meal plan, as well as the diversity of food on campus.

The Carnegie Pulse surveyed 75 students currently on meal plans last week and found that the plans still aren’t perfect, though.

On a scale of one to five, with higher scores indicating greater satisfaction, the student consensus averages 2.33, with most respondants saying they will not purchase a meal plan next year.

Students frequently attributed their dissatisfaction to feeling that they don't get their money’s worth, especially since they consider some of the food to be unsatisfactory. Some suggestions for improvement included opening a cafeteria-style dining facility, and making the block system more flexible, if not eliminating it entirely.

Students noted that the meal plan system is complicated; however, the quality and portion sizes of the meals themselves generally received neutral ratings.

“We have seen the overall participation rate go from an 88 percent last year to a 91 percent this year, which means that the students are using the meal plans more, which to me is an overall satisfaction statement in and of itself,” says Jane Fahringer, General Manager of Carnegie Mellon Dining Services. “I think [the diverse meal plans have] helped. I think [students] are happy with it. That’s why participation is up.”

Russell Borum, electrical and chemical engineering senior and chair of the Student Body Dining Committee, agrees:

“Two years ago you’d see a lot of complaints about food running out, food being to cold, too hot; things like that. These complaints have exponentially dropped in number. So to say that less students have been complaining transfers into quality improvement.”

New students may be unaware that the meal plan this year, with its Bronze, Silver, and Gold grades and their varying amounts of blocks and DineXtra, is significantly different from the limited choices of previous years. Last year, students had to choose between only three plans: 24 blocks and $50 of DineXtra, 30 blocks and $50 of DineXtra, or 36 blocks. First-year students now have fifteen choices that range from 26 to 47 blocks and $4 to $65 of DineXtra. There are now four meal time periods, rather than the three of previous years.

In terms of diversity, over the last year Dining Services has made several changes based on student input and assistance from the Student Body Dining Committee (SBDC). The Marketplace in the University Center was renovated to include a salad bar, which has been profitable. Another success was the expansion of Ginger’s Deli to include coffee bars in Baker Hall and the Purnell Center. The Deli was voted students’ favorite eating place on campus in The Pulse’s survey.

Dining Services is already considering how to re-open a cafeteria on campus, and Fahringer says that it has a lot to do with continued student feedback.

“If more people are on the meal plans, then we would have a need for additional facilities,” said Fahringer. “Whether that would be Highlander, I don’t know. I know that we hear loud and clear that students want a community dining place so that’s also something we’re trying to work through with the University and SBDC.”

“The question is how to re-open it,” Borum clarified. “Should it be a cafeteria, should it be à la carte, should it be buffet style?”

While no one is sure when a cafeteria dining facility will be available on campus, it is definitely a future initiative.

One explanation for the slow progress pertains to financial problems.

“The money going out was more than the money coming in,” said Borum.

“The financial situation has not improved. As a matter of fact, the more that the meal plans are used, the more the costs go up,” Fahringer explained. “So we are working right now with the University and with SBDC … on how to configure the meal plans … how we’re going to change them, how many people should be on meal plans…. We still hear that students would prefer not to have to use a block in a certain period of time, or to use more blocks than one at a time, but all that wraps into the whole financial picture as well.”

Still, Dining Services is pushing forward, introducing new options for students. Fahringer says Italian sodas will soon be introduced at the East Street Deli, and reports that both CK Pretzel’s sushi and the Grab n’ Go’s salad bar are extremely popular. Dining Services also plans to switch Schatz’s all-you-care-to-eat dinners back to Tuesdays from Monday.