Leftover Meals? What PFS should do with our meal plans
I don’t think anyone likes the food on his or her college campus. While PFS has its positives and negatives, some improvements are necessary. Now, this is not meant as an attack on the university’s food service. I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes nachos from the Fiesta Grill are the highlight of my day.
However, it’s still easy to complain about the repetitive options, the pricing and the hours of operation. One of the most common complaints levied against PFS is that most students have several meals left over at the end of the semester, meals they have already paid for but never used. Students effectively just lost the money they spent on meals that they did not eat.
While these issues may be annoying, in the end, they are pretty trivial.
At least we have something warm and filling to eat on a regular basis, unlike the more than 2,000 homeless people in Indianapolis alone.
That statistic is appalling, so why not solve our wasted meals problems by contributing to the war on hunger in Indianapolis?
UIndy should follow the example of other Indiana universities, such as Valparaiso University, which allows students to “donate” meals they do not use. Since we have spent the money already, why not give students the option to do something for the community?
PFS, of course, is not maliciously extorting students; they use the excess money for administrative costs, supply costs and to pay personnel.
While these things are obviously important, there is no harm in exploring options that would not only benefit those in need in the Indy area, but also appease disgruntled students who feel that their money is being unfairly siphoned into the PFS bank account.
If the university just donated the money students have left on their meal plans to a charity organization of each student’s choosing, it would make strides towards generating goodwill and a positive image of UIndy in the community as well. A policy like this would fit nicely with the university’s “Education for Service” motto.
What better way to serve the Indianapolis community than to make a difference in the life of a hungry child or give a homeless family its first healthy meal in months? All the university has to do is partner with a charitable organization and then give students the option to donate the money they spend.
If this were implemented, students would have the option to donate, but would not be forced to do so. That way, some money would still go to PFS to cover the cost of operation.
Students are hungry for a change in the university food service, so why not give them a taste of service to the community? Maybe this small gesture will whet the appetite for service in the students on our campus.
