Students wait in line at the Panda Express in the Student Union at Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014. (DM Photo/Aditya Khare)
There are plenty of on-campus dining options at Ole Miss, but an overwhelming majority of those options are either unused or unknown to students.
Many students feel like the quality of the food is poor, and they opt not to purchase meal plans after their freshman year.
“The food options on campus are not good enough for me to want to spend that much money on a meal plan when I can buy better food throughout Oxford,” Lane Murphy, senior education major said.
Students have options for meal plans each year, but nutritional awareness and complaints of food not being fresh have regularly led to a decrease in student involvement at dining halls and restaurants on campus.
All incoming freshmen at Ole Miss are required to choose a meal plan for their first year. There are several options, ranging in cost from $1,110 to $1,575 per semester.
Upperclassmen are not required to purchase a meal plan, but they are allotted 200 “Flex” dollars per semester through their tuition, which can be used at any dining location on campus.
Since many upperclassmen have Flex dollars at their disposal, they choose not to spend extra money on a meal plan.
“Since we basically get $400 a year included through our tuition, I have never purchased a meal plan after my freshman year,” Murphy said.
In addition to Flex dollars providing enough for non-freshmen, several students have indicated that the freshness of the food on campus is a major factor in neglecting to purchase meal plans.
“Most of the options in the Student Union are never fresh,” David Packard, senior business major said. “I probably have not eaten at the Student Union since my freshman year.”
Packard added, “The Subway on campus ironically hardly ever has fresh bread, even though their slogan claims otherwise. The Chick-fil-A in the Student Union always tastes old, so I always go to the one on Jackson Avenue. The food at the JC is rarely good either, so I usually just use my Flex dollars at Papa Johns.”
The university has added several options for students across campus, including places with fresher and healthier food. The Grill at 1810, located in the Olivia and Archie Manning Performance Center, has emerged as a new place for students who choose to eat healthier and more nutritious food. Many people initially thought the Grill at 1810 was not available for all students.
“I honestly had no idea that anyone could eat at the Grill at 1810,” sophomore Wesley Robbins said. “I thought it was only for athletes.”
Jason Phillips, senior food service director for Ole Miss, said the university is planning on making additions on campus that would increase interest for all students.
“In the next few months, we are trying to add several new options for food throughout campus,” Phillips said. “I can’t say exactly who right now because we are still in the contractual phrase, but we are planning on adding a major national brand to our student union sometime very soon.”
The new basketball arena opens sometime this fall, and Phillips said it will be another place for students to eat.
“Once the new basketball arena is completed, we are planning on adding two new national brand restaurants inside,” Phillips said. “Again, I am not at liberty to say which ones right now because the contracts have not been worked out, but I think they will be places that students are familiar with. We think that the reception for all of our new additions will be positive.”
Phillips continued to say that he expects upperclassmen to become more involved in purchasing meal plans and eating on campus.
“I really believe that the number of upperclassmen that purchase meal plans will drastically increase once we make these new additions,” Phillips said. “We have so many options on campus now, and we’ve gotten some very positive feedback on the changes we’ve made recently.”
Phillips said the addition of Panda Express in the Student Union has garnered the most praise from students.
“The new Panda Express is the best thing in the Student Union,” Robbins said. “I probably eat there more than I do any other place on campus.”
Since meal plans are not required for upperclassmen, Phillips believes improved food options are vital for the campus. Otherwise, students will choose to eat off campus once they have used their Flex dollars.
The university is making an effort to offer not only a variety of choices, but also numerous options that offer healthy and nutritious value. Once the on-campus dining situation is improved, more students can be expected to eat on campus regularly.
The Inn at Ole Miss, the JC East, the Marketplace at The RC, Einstein Bros Bagels and Lenoir Dining are a few of the other options students have on campus.
