Those who stop by the Marketplace to grab a quick lunch might have some difficulty finding seats these days, thanks in large part to the new meal “equivalency” program launched March 21.
The meal equivalency program creates some flexibility in the prepaid freshman meal plan, and administrators are already dubbing it a success. Freshman students who miss breakfast are now given $4.85 to purchase lunch on weekday afternoons. Most students are happy with the change, but many are still dissatisfied with the current dining options on East Campus—a fact which management said it is working to address.
Fred Bissinger, the resident district manager for ARAMARK Corp., the company that runs the Marketplace, estimates that an additional 100 to 200 lunches have been served every day over the past week as a result of the new transfer policy. Before the policy’s inception, less than half the freshman class—about 700 students—would go to the Marketplace for lunch on a given weekday afternoon. Exact statistics for the new plan are still being compiled and officials said they would be released shortly.
“On the surface it seems to be going pretty well,” Bissinger said. “But you never know until you get the hard numbers.”
Students seem to agree, although many think the meal equivalency program should have been developed much earlier. Others believe this is just the first step in what should be a larger move in the direction of improved freshman dining.
“I think it’s a good example of them trying to accommodate the students and our needs,” said freshman Pearce Godwin, who said he knew of the new policy but had yet to take advantage of it himself. Godwin often has early classes which prevent him from eating breakfast at the Marketplace.
Freshman Meera Patel, however, still believes she is not getting her money’s worth. “I think it’s a good idea, but I also think that they realized that they ripped us off in the beginning of the year,” she said.
Rebecca Borns, a freshman, added that she would like more variety in the menu. A possible solution, many students believe, would be to extend the meal equivalency program to other vendors on campus.
Such improvements may not be possible, administrators said. “I have a primary concern to make sure that we don’t do something that will compromise jobs for our employees,” said Jim Wulforst, director of dining services. Balancing student wants with practical financial issues is a “business puzzle,” Wulforst said, and more solutions may present themselves when figures come in at the end of the week.
It is very unlikely, however, that the meal equivalency program will extend to other vendors on West Campus, Wulforst said. Marketplace employees need to anticipate the day-to-day activity of student dining on East—a need that would not be met by an extended equivalency program, Wulforst added.
“Ultimately when a student doesn’t go to breakfast, the money doesn’t go to ARAMARK. The money more or less stays with Dining Services,” Wulforst said.
Last year, money from missed meals was used to improve Trinity Cafe, add a beverage center and replace $140,000 worth of carpeting in the Marketplace. Gas and electricity, as well as bills that are still coming in from the Marketplace’s renovations nearly nine years ago, account for other expenses. Student tuition does not fund Duke Dining Services.
Eight years ago dining facilities on West such as McDonald’s, Armadillo Grill, Rick’s Diner and the Sanford Deli did not exist, Wulforst said, and money from the freshman meal plan helped to bring in these vendors.
At the end of last year, only $30,000 remained in the entire dining budget, Wulforst said.
There is still room for further changes to the freshman meal plan, however. Bissinger said he is currently working with the Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee in order to give freshmen greater dining flexibility, and he encourages students to offer suggestions and feedback.
“If you go to the Marketplace, after a whole semester, it seems to be the same thing everyday although there is a large variety,” Bissinger said. In the future, he would like to change the meal plan every semester to give students a wide array of options.
Although he is not sure whether or not it will continue next year, Bissinger believes that the meal equivalency program is a step in the right direction.
“I think that we can sit down and make something that works for everybody,” Bissinger said. “That’s my plan.”
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