Kattey Ortiz
Equinox Staff
The new meal plan coming to campus next year is getting a round of applause from students. Earlier this semester, Keene State College rolled out a blueprint for the Zorn Dining Commons meal plan offerings for the fall of 2013.
The most significant change concerns the current 19-meal plan, which will be replaced by an Ultimate Plan, which will let students enter and leave the Zorn Dining Commons as they please during hours of operation.
The price of the Ultimate Plan will be the same as the current price for the 19 meal plan ($1,559 per semester).
Sophomore Johana Rodriguez, who currently has the 12-meal plan, said the only thing she likes about her current plan was the Meal Plan Dollars that were incorporated with it.
“I mostly hated the fact that since it’s only a 12-meal plan, I was only supposed to have two meals every weekday and one each day on weekends,” she said.
“Realistically, that doesn’t happen. So I always run out of meals for the most part.”
She added that she didn’t get the 19-meal plan because she feared not using them up every week, therefore wasting her meals and money.
Freshman America Rojas explained her experience with her meal plan over the year. “I had the 19-meal plan, and I didn’t think it was worth it,” she said.
She continued, “I never ate three meals a day or 19 meals a week. I think I might do the Unlimited Plan next year.” Rojas said she believes it will be a very popular plan.
“Almost everyone will love it because they have all you can eat as many times a day as they want,” Rodriguez agreed.
She continued, “I think it’s about time; I like the idea of it. I definitely think it’s going to be much more popular, at least with the freshmen and sophomores next year. Even juniors, because it’s a much better deal to be able to go whenever you want without restrictions.”
Like Rojas, sophomore Ryan Mahan is never able to eat all 19 meals per week.
He said 12 is not enough because there is only one swipe on the weekends. He stated the perfect meal would consist of 14 swipes, equalling two meals per day.
“For me, a perfect meal plan would be 14 [meals per week] where there is two for each day.”
Even so, he thinks the Unlimited Meal Plan will work better for other students as well.
Junior Jessica Lanzetti, who is off campus, said she will be getting the five-meal plan next year.
“I don’t even remember running out of meals when I had the 19-meal plan. But I think it’s good that more money will be added to flex.”
Kattey Ortiz can be contacted at
kortiz@keene-equinox.com