Stockton University has different meal plans offered for on-campus and commuter students. These options are all highlighted on the Stockton website; however, the variety of food selection and hours of operation for certain locations is often debated among the Stockton community.

Personally, I have had a hard time finding healthy food options that constitute a meal swipe or are available near Housing 5. With the cold weather, it can be difficult to walk to the other side of campus in hopes of healthier food options. Along with this, the price of food items prove to be challenging. A meal swipe consists of $8.49 and that is not nearly enough to constitute a healthy meal that provides dietary variety. An upperclassman who wishes to remain anonymous mentioned, “When I have chosen to be healthier and buy foods like fruit, salads, or smoothies everything has cost over a meal swipe! A lot of flexibility has to be used in order to get a decent amount of healthy food to keep me filled throughout the day.”

What a meal swipe can be used for is only one issue at hand. The hours of operation for certain locations around campus can bring upon problems in the Stockton community to make healthy choices that fit their dietary needs. In an instagram poll, 80 percent of those who participated said that Stockton does not offer enough choices. These choices can be for those that are trying to eat healthy, have allergies, or choose to only eat certain foods based on personal preferences. It can be hard to find food items that fit into a meal swipe or a certain financial plan.

The Lodge also does not offer a choice of breakfast options, as during the week, the market opens at 11:00 a.m. I am going to be a student teacher next semester, meaning that I am leaving my dorm before 7:30 am. With the lodge opening up at 11:00 am and only offering bagels and pastries, there isn’t much that I can do for breakfast. When asked about her opinion on the hours of operations at the Lodge, Junior Esmeralda Rivera stated that students “should be able to spend our meal swipes at the Lodge or the market for breakfast. We shouldn’t have to walk in the cold to the campus center to get breakfast. It would be more doable if they have breakfast near upperclassmen housing.”

The Lodge is not the only place that doesn’t always offer breakfast. Breakfast choices are relatively absent on the weekends, as on Saturdays and Sundays, only brunch is provided for students at N wing. Not all the food options are available on the weekends, specifically on Sunday. This can be problematic for the students that have to head to work or live in housing without a stove.

Other information related to Stockton Dining services that have recently come into play is the new pilot program for next semester, Osprey Connect. This service would be an extra charge of $200 for those without a meal plan to help fight food insecurity, and it will affect those living on campus as well as commuters. It is automatically added on to student’s bills, and one can only opt out of the program by going to the Osprey Connect section of Stockton’s website, which is also accessible on Instagram @stocktondining.

Information provided through another post by Stockton Dining includes the Bean’s List closure due to the renovations happening to the library. This can cause longer lines at other food places on campus and more stress on the students. The Chartwells forum from Thursday, December 5, also gave students an opportunity to voice their concerns and questions about these new changes.