Northeastern unveils revamped dining plans, eliminates meal exchanges

After more than two decades of offering weekly meal plans, Northeastern University announced in June a new dining system that will provide a specific number of meals per semester and eliminate meal exchanges.

These revamped dining plans, developed through collaboration between the Student Government Association’s Dining Advisory Board and university officials, will be implemented starting August 25. The university is also updating its Swipe2Care program, which allowed students to donate unused meal swipes, to align with the new meal structure, as reported by Northeastern Global News.

The new initiative, named “For the Love of Food,” offers students a set number of meals per semester rather than a weekly fixed amount. It replaces meal swipes with a greater number of dining dollars. The plans range from $2,700for100mealsto$ 4,300 for unlimited meals per semester.

Members of the Dining Advisory Board believe these changes will help students better budget themselves, minimizing financial loss from unused meals. Greg Katz, a spring 2024 mechanical engineering graduate and former vice president of campus affairs for the SGA, emphasized this benefit.

The SGA established the Dining Advisory Board within its campus affairs division in 2023. It consists of 11 undergraduate and graduate students, including two co-chairs, who drafted the revised meal plan throughout the 2023-24 academic year.

Katz noted that the idea for the board emerged from various individuals who collaborated on the project. Key administrators involved included Chris Abayasinghe, formerly the associate vice president of business services, and Linda Nardella, senior director of campus dining.

In discussions and surveys, students expressed that the traditional meal plans available since 2019—offering seven, 12, 17, or unlimited meals per week—lacked flexibility. Zi Glucksman, a rising fourth-year student majoring in politics, philosophy, and economics and co-chair of the Dining Advisory Board, explained that the board’s role was to gather student feedback to shape the reform effectively.

The board identified three core principles for the meal plan reform: affordability, flexibility, and variety.

Northeastern’s meal swipe rates and other on-campus living expenses have risen over the last 20 years. For example, in the 2004-05 academic year, a five-meal-per-week plan had an average swipe value of $\mathrm{12.87.}Incontrast,forthe2024-25plans,theleastexpensiveoptionof100mealspersemesterhasaswipevalueof$ 25, while the $4,300unlimitedplan—whichoffersabout21mealsperweek—hasanaverageswipevalueofapproximately$ 12.38.

Previously, Glucksman was the lead organizer for No Hungry Huskies, a campaign advocating for food security among students. He drew inspiration from his experiences with this initiative for the reforms suggested by the Dining Advisory Board.

Affordability was consistently highlighted by students as a major concern, and rising dining costs became a key focus of the No Hungry Huskies campaign. Nicole Contreras, a rising fourth-year electrical and computer engineering major and a member of the Dining Advisory Board, shared her experience of downgrading meal plans due to cost concerns, stating that the previous options didn’t meet student needs.

Kayla To, a rising third-year student majoring in biology and political science, shared her experience with the traditional 12-meals-per-week plan. She often found herself unable to use all her meal swipes before going home for the weekend, leading to a reset of her meals. To said she would “rush to Outtakes on Fridays to use as many leftover swipes as possible.”

She noted, “It’s just a bunch of snacks for one swipe, maybe three at most. But I feel forced to do this because by the end of the week, I sometimes don’t use everything and think, ‘Oh no, all my swipes are going to waste.’”

Another significant concern among students was the elimination of meal exchanges, according to Glucksman. While meal swipes can still be used at Outtakes in Stetson West, there is now a “greater emphasis” on dining dollars.

Glucksman explained that restaurants in the Curry Student Center that used to accept meal swipes were not providing students with the “full dollar value” of their meals. For instance, although a meal swipe had a value of $21,theactualmealmightonlycostaround$ 12. With the increase in dining dollars, students now have “more flexibility” in how and where to spend their money.

Nina Wolf, a rising second-year criminology and criminal justice major, pointed out the added flexibility that dining dollars will offer, especially for students with dietary restrictions.

“With meal exchanges, the options are very limited,” Wolf said. “You can only choose from specific meals, and often that doesn’t meet your needs. If you require a certain type of food that isn’t included in the meal exchange, you have to use your dining dollars. But if those run out, it’s an additional cost.”

Through her involvement with the Dining Advisory Board, Contreras emphasized that the updated dining plans reflect the university’s commitment to continually assess student needs.

“The previous meal plan hadn’t been reexamined in a long time, and now it finally is,” Contreras said. “Maintaining that connection between students and administration regarding dining is crucial for ensuring the school understands what students require.”