May 4, 2009

Fall Semester Meal Plans

Looking for fast and healthy meals on campus? Sign up for a Fall semester Meal Plan today! We have a meal plan options suited for on-campus, off-campus and commuter students. All plans will allow you to dine at both The Terrace and Riverview CafĂ©, our all-you-care-to-eat dining rooms or at any of your favorite retail dining areas – dining on campus has never been so easy!

Sign up for a plan today, and your Meal Plan will be conveniently added to your Fall semester tuition statement.

Click here to view all the Meal Plan options and to purchase.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a horrible idea. Do you not realize that not all people like to eat in the cafeteria for every meal of the day? Having limited meal periods to use the only 2 meals that you paid for was ridiculous enough. I don't know how you get away with providing this kind of service any real business would have been out competed long ago by places that let you spend your money how you want.

Anonymous said...

Agreed. I do not like to eat in the cafeteria often at all. There is a lack of choices and you have to stay there to eat your meals. If we don't like eathing there, then we have to pay extra? How can you make the cheapest plan for this year be the same cost as the most expensive one from last year? I don't get why we only get two choices verses four either? This is a very poor change in my opinion and I don't think many people are going to be happy about it.

Anonymous said...

Why do we only have two choices to choose from for our meal plans for next year? And the price has gone up so much, it is now the same amount as the 19 meal plan was for these past semesters to get the cheapest meal plan. Besides I dont know many people who actually eat at the cafe for every meal, every day. And by the way, $50 is not enough to buy at hilltop because we need to get our essentials such as bread, milk, and cereal there, and $50 over a semester is nothing. This is not fair to any of us, these are the worst ideas for meal plans anyone could have possibly thought of.

Anonymous said...

Everyone can say what they want but I work for them and I know what is actually happening. The economy is in the gutter right now and so they are making cuts where cuts can be made. If your going to complain about choice and all that mumbo jumbo crap then move off campus or shop at a grocery store. It is a campus food court and they are not there to please your every need. Grow up and move off campus where you can make your own food. Also as stated before, this is mainly due to budget cuts they are really not trying to make anyone mad or rip anyone off. But obviously you haven't noticed that our economy is in the GUTTER right now.

Dani the Dandelion said...

this is terrible- forcing students to have a meal plan and then taking away all semblance of choice and making the only affordable option the yucky greasy, bland institutional food that the cafeteria serves. You can pretty much kiss your sales at the Marketplace and Hilltop to go to the gutter now and you might as well just close them- because nobody is going to waste their money on your overpriced junk when you don't even let them spend their meals flexibly.
This choice will only further damage the dining services financial situation.

Anonymous said...

If the dining services needs to cut costs, then they should stop monopolizing and let some franchises back in. Franchises have to pay them for the space and stuff, and then they take care of the costs for themselves.... and Subway and other real restaurants have a lot more common sense when it comes to business. PLEASE THE CUSTOMER. Unlike someone on here said.... the dining services is a business out to make money off us- and they are doing it a LOT. When the economy is in the gutter, poor college students don't suddenly have MORE money to spend on meal plans.

Other universities in the UW system, like Madison, don't require a meal plan. If sodexho can't do a decent job of this- our school should go the way that Madison has- and sell things per-item based on what people choose to buy, rather than forcing them.

having a requirement for a meal plan gives dining services the permission to relax and be lazy and incompetent instead of having to compete for their business and serve quality food.

Anonymous said...

The cafeterias are going to absolutely crowded, seeing as there's already huge lines, limiting people to only the cafe for the most part will absolutely destroy the functionality of the cafe. Not everyone can fit their schedule to keep up with the limited times of the cafe, and the convenience of taking a sub with me was loved, and now I can't do that without adding more money. The food choices at the cafe are terrible, and consistently mediocre so there's no incentive to pay more for the same food. This is a terrible change in meal plans, and I cannot believe that the UWEC system is killing itself with this. Food issues are going to drive incentive to the campus away, and forcing us to an expensive meal plan is terrible.

Anonymous said...

Horrible, horrible change. I can't believe how the article attempted to sugarcoat the fact that WE CAN ONLY EAT MEDIOCRE FOOD IN THE CAFETERIA. Dining on campus has never been so easy? More like it has never been so mediocre and restricted.

Anonymous said...

Understanding that the economy is not doing so hot right now, I am beyond frustrated with these meal plan choices. I, like many others, rarely, if ever, eat in the caf, mostly because there is always the same choices, they're not always the most healthy choices, and you can't take anything out. What baffles me the most is how much more expensive they are. I'm sorry, but I don't think that cafeteria food for one semester needs to be that high. The food is alright, but it is definitely not worth that much. As far as "growing up and moving off campus or buying from the grocery store", that would also not be the best solution because a) as was mentioned, the economy sucks, it's difficult to live off campus and b) when you live in the dorms, you don't have a choice. you have to have a meal plan.

Anonymous said...

Plea to the university -- Please issue some sort of response explaining these changes (other than the disgruntled employee that wrote a less-than-professionally worded response to these posts). I think that two thinks would help: giving the students an explaination and helping them to understand why this needs to be done AND offering some other option. I, personally, as dorm resident feel like I hve been forced into a tough spot. Although it is probably still cheaper to have a meal plan, it could at least be offered that students on campus could chopose whether or not to have a meal plan...just a suggestion (I'm sure one that will decrease efficiency of dining services and make Sodexho slightly mad, but Sodexho isn't paying for college, we are paying Sodexho to eat.)

Anonymous said...

Seriously people....If you wanted to voice your opinions about the meal plans you probably should have attended the Town-meeting last semester when they had student input that decided the meal plans for this year... I went and my voice was heard, but the other side of the argument was just louder.

We can change them again for next year(2010-2011) if we decide this system really does not work.

Anonymous said...

I agree with most of the comments against the two meal plans being offered for fall semester. Did anyone ever bother asking the students about this? I sure as hell would have liked to know earlier so I could have planned on moving off campus.

This whole idea is absolutely ridiculous, especially for those of us who have different dietary concerns. There's already so little around campus to eat, what am I supposed to get from the caf? Cereal and fruit? Is anybody else really willing to pay over a thousand dollars to survive off of cereal and fruit for a school year.

Yes, the economy sucks, but it sucks for everybody as a whole. Especially the students. All this is really going to do is force people like myself to purchase everything else off campus because nothing on campus is affordable. My meal plan was the only reason for me ever purchasing anything from the food courts, I won't really even mention much about the outrageously-priced items at the "Green Bean."

Taking away our options isn't going to help anybody. The meal plans this year were already a rip off, do you really need to make it worse?

If it really needs to be this way, can there at least be ingredients and nutritional information more readily available? Namely the ingredients, because that's been especially difficult this far to find. Even asking different employees on lower campus hasn't helped much--many of them have been rude or reluctant to help.

This whole situation is really upsetting and nobody I know of is happy with the situation. Many, of course, don't believe that complaining is ever going to help. Since we've all been directed to a blog of all places, I'm skeptical that our opinions even matter.

Oh, and what are guests supposed to do? I'm skeptical that any visitors I have are going to want to pay a penny for any of the crappy food offered in the cafeteria. Again, you're only driving us off campus.

Anonymous said...

"Seriously people....If you wanted to voice your opinions about the meal plans you probably should have attended the Town-meeting last semester when they had student input that decided the meal plans for this year... I went and my voice was heard, but the other side of the argument was just louder.

We can change them again for next year(2010-2011) if we decide this system really does not work."

Maybe if they actually made students more aware of what was going on it would have helped. I, for one, had absolutely no idea about this whole ordeal until two days ago.

all.is.hope said...

I would've loved to go to the town-meeting; unfortunately I'm a transfer student and currently live in Green Bay, so that wasn't a possibility for me, as well as for new freshman for the upcoming year.
I agree that this an awful idea. I have recently (after a long time of trying) successfully taught myself to make important, healthy, well thought out choices of the food I consume, and these plans will really limit my choices. This is also a waste of money. I'm receiving some money help through financial aid and it's kind of crap that the aid money (which is already less than previous years per student) will be going to pay for overpriced meals. As well as the large sum that will be coming out of my pocket that I would much prefer to save for the upcoming school years.

Well, I would love to have the on campus experience...but with these prices I don't know if that will happen. I was hoping I could save money by living on campus again.

Anonymous said...

If this is going to happen there need to be more vegetarian/vegan options made available, or at very least ingredients posted.

Anonymous said...

Sodexho is an awful food service provider. I had them at the college I went to and the food was awful. We changed to another provider which made local food, vegitarian/vegan options, organic options and clearly posted the ingredients of each meal. They also made meals to order in addition to having quick options as grab and go. Sodexho is a part of the junk food industry and therefore serves junk. It is unfortunate that the school is forcing you to eat their food. A better provider may cost more, but is well worth it because you might actually use your meal plans then.

Secondly, you should be able to take food out. Sometimes you have to rush to class, especially if there is a long line. Or you want to eat outside on a nice day. No matter what forcing students to eat there and forcing them to be on a meal plan isn't going to serve their needs well.

I think it's unfortunate that I will have to advise my cousin, an incoming Frosh that the meal plan is probably not a great option. Students, especially incoming students, need support and the meal plan is a huge support. Having one that is unhealthy and that doesn't serve the needs of the greater school community doesn't help the schools retention rate.

On the other hand I do acknowledge that even a school with a great meal plan will have many students complaining. Who wants to eat in the same place every day. Even if it's great, it gets old. So I understand it's not an easy task. But I think there are quite a few simple ways to make the plan and the functioning of the cafeteria more amiable for students who need it.

Christian Wise, GM/Exec. Chef-Blugold Dining said...

To All,
Since a third meal plan was introduced a few days ago, I think a majority of issues are taken care with that new plan. However,
if you still have concerns, please write to me directly and I will be glad to address concerns.

Our offerings will be expanded in the cafeterias next Fall and we are adding an Executive Chef to our management team. This last year, I have been pulling double duty and an extra manager will facilitate change quicker.

Finally, if you truly are interested in your Dining Service, please become involved in the Dining Committee.

wisec@uwec.edu

Thanks,

Christian

Anonymous said...

people, please, grow up and gain some individuality. you all are saying the same old, same old, same old thing. complain all you want, but it gets you nowhere. which is right outside of somewehre, where everyone else is. if you'd like to join the club of happy, contributing people, do this. if you dont like it, dont settle for it. simple. oh my gosh. i think oprah just called and invited me to her show. all because of this astoundingly simple and out-of-this-world realization i've just had. *if you dont like it, dont settle for it* wow...i'm brilliant. really, actually, its the fans. i gotta thank the fans. without you, i would not be here today. and my family, and dog...yes belle, i would not forget you. thanks so much everyone and have a great day!