By Lauren Quinn
Rumors of meal plan changes leave Susquehanna students searching for answers as to how their eating habits will be affected starting in the Fall 2025 semester.
University staff and Aramark representatives offered insight during last Wednesday’s public forum and an additional meeting this past Tuesday. Francy Magee, vice president for student life and dean of students, explained how students will now have the option to choose from three main dining plans, two of which will include unlimited swipes into Evert Dining Room.
Eran Haupt, marketing manager for Aramark, explained that Evert will start to feel “kind of like your kitchen at home,” comparing it to having continuous access to a refrigerator because students will not feel restricted as to when and what they can eat. The dining room’s hours will also be expanded, being closed for much shorter periods before opening for lunch and dinner.
Hawk Meals, which are currently equivalent to $8, will no longer have a set monetary value. Instead, they will be designated for meal bundles at retail locations on campus, which will typically include a main item, a side and a drink. Meal plans will allow students to have either two or three Hawk Meals a day, used within different one-hour intervals. They will not carry over from day to day. The hope is that this will eliminate the need for students to do complicated math when it comes to having extra meal swipes at the end of the week, or not enough.
Magee stated that the goal of the new dining plans is that they will be “modified to how students eat.” It will now be possible to run into Evert and grab a coffee and muffin before a morning class but then be able to go back and have a full sit-down breakfast afterwards without having to worry about running out of swipes. Structured mealtimes will be a thing of the past, allowing students with busy schedules to have more food freedom and less worry about making it to Evert before the doors shut.
It is going to be a “change in mindset,” explained Haupt, but the hope is that it will be a positive one.