Thursday, April 4th, I had the pleasure of meeting with Dining Service Operations Manager, Peter Stark to “pitch” my idea for an addition to the current meal plans provided to students. During this conversation, I began to realize how little communication there is between what administrators are doing and what students are aware of.

A few things to be aware of:

Muhlenberg decides what meals plans look like and their cost

The school cooperates with Sodexo on a PNL system: what does that mean? It stands for Profit & Loss and basically the college gets paid a certain amount per day per student + catering and after they pay for food and employees – Sodexo’s profit is what is left.

In a PNL agreement: the risk is on the supplier, whereas the college benefits financially versus the Management Fee Account: where the risk & reward are on the college and Sodexo gets paid no matter what. For example, if every student used every dining dollar and every swipe, the college would lose out on money.

Most colleges average at around 60-65% of total swipes and dining dollars being used, while Muhlenberg ranges at about 75-80%. This is what is known as a Participation Rate

During the Fall semester, the dining hall averaged at 22,000 meals being served a day and a a food expense of $80,000 per week. It’s more expensive than what other colleges are spending, but how many dining halls serve salmon every weekend?

What if we were to add a meal plan that sat between the Cardinal (~$700) and the Bronze (~$2100): here’s what it would potentially look like

• 125-130 swipes
• $250-$300 DD
  • between $1600-$1700

Here’s what the breakdown looks like:

subtract $300 from $1600 and you’re left with $1300. Then divide 130 by that number and you get $10 a meal. Which is what the average meal on the Cardinal plan comes out to. When we break down the Bronze plan (150 swipes, $300 DD – $2100 the average meal is $12)

What if you’re an upperclassman and eat more meals off campus? You are required by the school to have a plan no lower than the bronze. What if you finish the semester with 80 swipes left? You aren’t able to drop any lower. Wouldn’t you want a plan that was a little more economically affordable?

I understand the school needs to bring in revenue, however, what about students needs? What about the students with allergies that literally cannot eat food in the dining hall on certain days?

This plan should be offered to all students sophomore year and above. By sophomore year, a lot of students have cars and begin to venture off campus for other meals. What harm would adding another meal plan do, if it allowed students to feel like they are not wasting money.