Returning students may have missed an email about meal plan changes over the Summer. Students are now limited to three options, previously, we had to budget our meal swipes per semester. This came with the benefit of having more control over the amount of meal swipes and dining dollars in your account, so are these three new options beneficial to students?
Two aggie dining managerial staff members were interviewed and requested to stay anonymous. They stated, Galveston campus merged contracts with the dining at College Station over the Summer. This means that all dining options, prices, and services now match the main campus. This includes the removal of to-go meals from the dining hall and an increase in prices for meals paid directly.
First, the most expensive plan is now over “$400 cheaper” than previous years, another is that the plans can now be used seamlessly at the dining halls in College Station. This is great for all Access 7 students who visit the main campus frequently. The most notable benefit is that dining dollars don’t expire after the spring semester and roll over between semesters and campuses! They will stay on your account as long as you are a student at TAMU. Also, some may not know that dining dollars can be added through the Dine On Campus website. As a result of this new meal plan, dining management stated that they have been able to “double on-campus events” this year, as well as starting the “First Year Eats” program at TAMUG to help new students battle hunger and food insecurity.
What do returning students think about these changes? When asked about the available options, the overall opinion was mixed. One student, Anonymous ’27, stated, “The new all-access 7 is too expensive, and the 5-day access is too limiting”. Anonymous ’26 complained about their dining dollar situation, saying, “I’ve already almost run out of dining dollars, and there has only been a month of school.” Some other complaints have been that many students never used all their meal swipes. Now, they have lost the option to purchase a smaller meal plan.
Losing to-go meals from Captains Landing, fewer meal plan and dining dollar options, and no longer having a set number of meal swipes makes for a very noticeable difference compared to last year. An on-campus student, Anonymous ’27, said, “This new 7-day all-access option just makes more sense.” However, the same student said, “Taking away to-go meals just seems unnecessary.” Overall, the changes to the new dining plan seem to be controversial among students.
