Money seems to be one of college student’s hardest items to hold on to. With the amount that they pay in tuition, housing and, of course, food they are usually left with only moths in their wallets.
Food is a necessity and for many students their college meal plans are quite pricy. As we have reported, Pitt-Johnstown has meal plans costing students 12 to 14 percent more than some other universities.
While not all Pitt-Johnstown students share the same view, there are some who say that, for the quality of food here, the price is a bit high. Pitt-Johnstown charges $8.53 for a meal through Sodexo food service.
Other universities like Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Lock Haven University are charging their students almost a dollar less for a meal with the price from $7.08 to $7.30.
When it comes to pricing meals, there is a lot to take into consideration. The size of the school, number of cafeterias and even number of retail stores all affect how much a school charges their students.
Pitt-Johnstown, being a smaller campus has fewer meals to produce, which means that the cost of each meal is higher.
We believe that Pitt-Johnstown meal prices are all right. They are not so far off from other universities’ prices.
But, there may be some improvements possible in both quality and price.
Certainly, our analysis does not put Pitt-Johnstown’s meal costs in a favorable light, especially when one considers that IUP can afford, with lower meal prices, $37 million for a new dining hall.
We would encourage our administration to look at food services at other universities for possible cost savings or quality improvements.
We assume they’re already doing that, and, in that case, our analysis may encourage closer looks.
Both IUP and Lock Haven use Aramark as their food supplier. Some of their students may complain that the food lacks varity, but the quality is very good and the price is more reasonable.
If Pitt-Johnstown continues to charge their students $8.53 per meal they are charging each student close to $2,000 more than other universities over the course of four years.
Other schools are able to save their students that $2,000 – so we know that it is possible to reduce the price.