As I walked into the cafeteria on the first day of school, it was as hectic and busy as the first day always is, with students swarming around to find their soon-to-be lunch buddies and, of course, their subsistence for that day. As a senior, I’m accustomed to this overwhelming scene so I patiently stood back and waited for the lines to shorten so that I could get my lunch in peace. Carrying my $2.25 in exact change, I was eager to get my usual green plate special: Mediterranean chicken, potatoes, salad, fruit and pita.
However, no upperclassmen wisdom could prepare me for what was to happen next. When it was finally my turn and I ever-so naively ordered my usual chicken green plate special, a lunch staff member merely shook her head at me, pointing to the newly escalated prices. The exact same meal as before was no longer a green plate special and would now cost $3.25. As I scanned other menus I found that the few green plate meals remaining had also become more expensive, going from the fair price of $2.25 to $2.75 without warning.
Other stations that have fallen victims to such shot up prices and abolished green plate specials include: the Viva Burrito station, and the Nuoc Nuoc Asian cuisine station. This leaves four green plate options: the house salad from the Mixed Greens station, the pasta plate from Mia Pasta, the cheese stromboli from Luigi’s Brick-Oven Pizza and OrganicLife’s daily special. While the decrease in green plate options may not be an outstanding issue for most students, students who receive free or reduced lunch fall victim to the sudden lack of selection, since their meal plans only permit them to get the green plate option.
While the Mediterranean green plate had never been my personal favorite, it had always been my usual pick since it was one of the healthier options of the green plate specials where I’d get the most bang for my buck. However, with such an unexpected increase in price, and with the food’s quality being the only thing that has gone down, I am considering resorting back to packing my own lunch as I had done before the reasonably priced green plate specials became available.
It simply seems counterproductive for OrganicLife to raise the green plate specials’ prices, since the plates were designed to essentially encourage a healthy, balanced meal. Will students continue to buy them with less choices, and with $0.50 more per meal? Or will students opt out and buy the slightly cheaper brownie that is guaranteed to satisfy the taste buds? If raised prices meant higher quality, better service and larger portions, that would be completely understandable. However, this is unfortunately not the case, and it is a change that I find illogical and inappropriate.
What are your thoughts on the raised prices in the cafeteria? Feel free to comment below!
