Meal plan price increase raises questions about Dining Hall quality

By Zach Spindler-Krage spindler@grinnell.edu

Following a 5.5% increase in Dining Hall meal plan costs, some students are questioning whether they are getting what they pay for.

For the 2023-24 academic year, the price of the full meal plan — 20 meals per week — has risen to $8,378. According to a campus-wide email from Germaine Gross, treasurer and vice president of finance, on Feb. 21, the board of trustees and College leadership approved a 5.5% increase to comprehensive fees. The email cites inflation, surging operating costs and volatile financial markets as the primary factors leading to the increase.

For the 2022-23 academic year, the full meal plan was set at $7,940, which breaks down to $12 for breakfast, $15 for lunch and $18 for dinner. Aside from cases of severe dietary restrictions or allergies, all first-year students are required to enroll in the full meal plan for their first semester. They can choose between two options for second semester, although the prices are the same for both plans. All students must be on one of six meal plan options unless they reside in designated co-ops and campus houses or live off campus.

The S&B reached out to Gross, Britt McConnell, dietitian, and Jeanette Moser, director of dining services, for comment on this article and was redirected to Mattia Wells, a communications and marketing office spokesperson, who compiled informa- tion from the College administration.

According to Wells, the cost of the meal plan is determined as part of the College’s budget planning process. Since all elements of the comprehensive fee — tuition, fees, room and board — tend to increase equivalently, the meal plan has steadily remained roughly 10% of the College’s total cost of attendance. Meaning, as seen in the Grinnell College Common Data Set, the proportion of meal plan cost to total cost of attendance has been consistent since the data collection began in 1999.

The cost of the meal plan accounts for food, labor and overhead costs. This includes employee benefits, insurance and educational programs. Currently, dining services employs 84 full-time staff, 75 of which are service and culinary staff. Additionally, there are 14 part-time staff and 117 student staff.

Because the College runs as a notfor-profit, the College states that the goal of meal plan pricing is to enable dining services to provide high-quality options for students, not to make money. According to Julie Lascol, associate director of community-engaged learning, the city of Grinnell, as a whole, faces food accessibility challenges.

To explain why stores that offer local food are often driven out of business, Lascol said, “While the town of Grinnell is not technically a food desert, rural areas, especially in cold climates, face a variety of challenges when it comes to access to food. This has only worsened with stores like Walmart coming to town who can use