Student Senate is working on a bill to remove meal periods from Ohio University’s traditional meal plan.
Residence Life Commissioner for the Senate Mae Hu, a senior studying finance and political science, said she was inspired to work on the bill after receiving several complaints from students about the meal periods that come with the traditional meal plan.
“I received complaints from a few students about how the time blocks didn’t match up with their schedules,” Hu said. “It was messing with their eating schedules, and they weren’t able to use their swipes when they wanted.”
A traditional meal plan includes either 14 or 20 meals per week with five meal periods daily Monday through Saturday and four meal periods Sunday.
The meal periods are set for breakfast, lunch, late lunch, dinner and late dinner, and a student may only use one meal swipe per meal period. For example, if a student uses a meal swipe during the breakfast meal plan, they may not use another meal swipe until the lunch meal period begins.
Vice Commissioner of Residence Life for the Senate Aidan Kirk, a sophomore studying business analytics, said he wanted to work on the bill after noticing the challenges the meal periods impose on students.
“I was at the Brick City food truck, and somebody tried to use a swipe, and they weren’t able to because they were within the time frame,” Kirk said. “We’ve been working on drafting that (the bill) ever since.”
Sam Kennedy, a sophomore majoring in marketing, said he was unaware of the meal periods until last week. Kennedy said he does not have much time to eat in the afternoon due to his schedule, so he likes to eat more in the morning.
“I went to the dining hall, and then I went to Earl’s Coop and tried to get some more food,” Kennedy said. “I already used one of my swipes, so they didn’t let me get food.”
Rylan Doyle, a freshman studying exercise physiology, said she does not like the meal periods in the traditional meal plan.
“I think they are almost like a money grab, a way for me to upgrade to flex,” Doyle said.
The flex meal plan, which also offers the option of 14 or 20 meals per week, does not have meal period restrictions. Students on the flex meal plan can use as many swipes as they want at any time of the day.
For the 2024-2025 school year, a 14-meal traditional meal plan costs $2,575, and a 14-meal flex meal plan costs $3,509.
Hu said removing the meal periods would not affect the pricing of the traditional meal plan.
“I’ve talked to culinary about the bill, and what I found out is that the removal of the time blocks wouldn’t affect the pricing of the plan that much,” Hu said. “There’s a difference in pricing between the flex and the traditional. Most of that difference is based off contracts with retail on campus for flex.”
Doyle said the meal periods prevent her from eating when she wants to and enjoying all the culinary options at OU, such as getting a smoothie from Smooth Moves in Boyd Market in the morning.
“I like to get a smoothie and a little croissant and a little apple,” Doyle said. “I’ll go out to lunch with my friends at 1 p.m., and I’ll get denied from the dining hall, and I won’t be able to go in because of the meal periods.”
