Is there a definite winner between meal plans or cooking your own food? The short answer is “no.” When going to college, the main concern of many people involves the food options.
If deciding whether or not to purchase a meal plan, there are several things you can consider beforehand in order to make the right choice. For example, if you have several diet restrictions, like lactose intolerance or vegetarianism, eating on campus might not be the best thing for you to do.
Some campuses, including Eastern Michigan’s, offer vegetarian options or restaurants, but this is not always the case. People who have severe allergies to peanuts or avoid gluten might also have a hard time finding food they can eat on campus.
Being a picky eater might also seem like an obstacle, but this isn’t always so. The Eateries and Dining Commons have tried-and-true favorites like hamburgers, pizza, pasta, sandwiches, soup and desserts.
Exploring what the campus has to offer as far as food also has to do with when different venues are open. If you’re more of a late-night eater, checking the times certain restaurants close might be important to make sure you’re getting dinner.
Similarly, those who like to wake up very early should see if the campus offers breakfast. EMU has breakfast served in the Eateries every morning at 7, for example.
Price is also an issue when it comes to choosing how to get meals all year. If you are living at home, it probably makes the most sense not to get a meal plan and just use cash here and there if you want a snack or some lunch one day.
If you live on or near campus, however, realizing what materials you have available can be a big factor in this decision.
Residence halls like the First Year Center have stoves for the entire floor, but this isn’t always convenient.
Full-size refrigerators don’t fit inside the dorms, so it doesn’t make sense to plan eating home-cooked meals most of the time. Also, many people either do not know how or do not like to cook, so the option at the point would be easy: Go with the meal plan.
If you live in the Village or Cornell apartments, refrigerators and stoves are available for personal use, making it more possible to have home-cooked meals on a regular basis.
From a budget perspective, it depends on what kind of food you like to eat. If you’re content with eating ramen noodles, macaroni and cheese or sandwiches on a regular basis, it makes more sense to buy your own food.
If you eat one or two meals a day, it also makes sense to avoid the meal plan, because you won’t be spending that much on food. However, if you like to go out to eat, it would be more cost-effective to purchase the meal plan.
Meal plans for a semester cost between $3,600 and $4,200 per school year, varying from one meal a day to three with some extra cash in Flex dollars at EMU. These traditional options do not let a meal exceed $6.50, and if it does, the difference must be paid in Flex.
Flex meal plans cost between $3,000 and $4,200 per year, but have no limit on how much a meal costs. This is a debit-style plan that any restaurant on campus will accept.
If you feel like it’d be easier for you to maintain a food budget, the Flex meal plan would be ideal. However, it is cheaper to just set aside money for food each semester, but the plans can be very convenient.
