The Price of Convenience: My Experience with Concordia's Mandatory Meal Plan

Meals and Monopolies

The concept of a “Mandatory Meal Plan” is a problem. When there is no opt-out option for the meal plan, it creates a captive market, as the CFC states in their zine “Bite Back: Exposing the Corporate Cafeteria on Campus.” Concordia has disclosed their reasons for why they do not provide an opt-out option. These reasons are listed on the CFCblog What’s the Problem with Aramark. The main reason that Concordia administration cites is that there is a “lack of kitchens in dorms.” This is ridiculous, given that when they rent out the Grey Nuns Residence for “Summer Stays”, the guests may fend for themselves in the same self-cook station kitchen that is promised to students during the year. I understand that the number of people is lower than the number during the year, however, I believe a system could be devised so that students could use the self-cook station effectively. If Concordia made the meal plan optional, it is likely that only a handful of students, in the grand scheme, would actually opt-out. Meaning that the kitchen area that already exists could be used by the students who opted out. I say it is likely that only some people will opt-out because there are first year students who enjoy having a meal plan. For them, it takes the stress and time consuming task of cooking off of their plates so that they can focus on their more important tasks. On the flip side, however, there are also first year students that enjoy the autonomy and organization that comes with preparing their own meals. Preparing one’s own food can ensure that one’s dietary needs are met, if they have allergies, sensitivities or specific dietary requirements. Another, slightly more concerning, reason for why there is no opt-out option is because “Administrators claim concerns about cleanliness and fire hazards and have voiced their perspective that students are not mature enough to be given kitchen access” (What’s the Problem with Aramark). Frankly, this is insulting. Not allowing anyone the chance to opt-out of a mandatory meal plan because a few of their peers may be messy is a ridiculous stance and it is collective punishment. It is fair to say that if the opt-out option existed, only students who know how to cook and are interested in taking the time to cook for themselves would opt-out of the meal plan. This demographic of people, I would venture to say, is probably pretty used to cleaning up after themselves. What’s more ridiculous is that Concordia already acknowledges the risk that the self-cook station might be messied by students who use it. In the terms & conditions document it states that “when preparing food in the Self-Cook station, you are responsible for maintaining the area.” The fact that students pay so much money for this meal plan without getting any autonomy over the food that they eat is astounding.  Evidently, Concordia students in residence are subject to being part of the captive market which was mentioned earlier, but so is the greater population of Concordia students.

The fact that Concordia consistently makes contracts with companies such as Aramark, who routinely value profit over people, as the CFC clearly shows in their articles and zines, is alarming. The lack of nutritional info, let alone nutritionally dense food in the residence dining halls and Aramark-run cafe is frustrating. Especially for students whose diets have a large impact on their quality of life and well-being, such as myself. I found that I was unable to sustain a proper diet as I needed it for my health while living in residence and I know my peers did, too. Sadly, it is a common ‘joke’ among students who have lived in residence that the dining hall food induced disordered eating. At the end of the day, I am not sure who the mandatory meal plan is supposed to serve except Aramark and Concordia University, who make a large profit off of the underserved student population. With all of that said, I am hopeful. At Concordia, we have the Concordia Food Coalition, who is fighting for Concordia students to have better food options. The hope is that Aramark will be replaced with the CFC’s ‘New Food Enterprise’, which aims to provide nutritious, local food at affordable prices, once Concordia’s contract with Aramark is terminated, supposedly, in 2026.