Principia College students are adjusting to a new dining system this semester, as $250 in “Prin Bucks” and an all-you-can-eat buffet replace traditional meal plans. The changes were introduced with the launch of Fresh Ideas, a new food service company that manages campus dining.
Under the new system, students can use their Prin Bucks at both the Piasa Pub and the college store. However, students say $250 isn’t enough for the semester.
“I was really interested to know how [the system] was going to work, but it’s midsemester and I’m already out of points,” said sophomore Jamie Efthimiou, adding that prices seem to have risen.
Efthimiou isn’t the only student running out of Prin Bucks early; several students are in the same boat. Under the previous dining points system, students typically had enough points to last through more than half the semester, depending on their chosen plan and eating habits.
Some students say the current allocation of Prin Bucks makes it challenging to budget for meals at the pub each week.
“We have 16 weeks in the semester and given $250 bucks, if we divide that, we have $15.65 to spend every week,” said senior Kesiena Berezi. “One meal costs around $10 to $15, which means that I can only eat at the pub once a week if I want my points to last for the whole semester, and I am not considering spending at the c-store.”
While students are still grappling with this change, it comes as part of an effort to help students, say dining officials.
“The 250 Prin bucks was an idea that came in the request for proposals, which Fresh Ideas submitted, and Prin thought it was a reasonable idea,” Adam Davis, director of business and operations, said, He also said there had been a change in the pub menu from last semester, noting that Fresh Ideas is still working on finalizing the menu.
Davis said Fresh Ideas is open to student feedback as the semester progresses and is considering adjustments to the system based on the feedback they’ve already received regarding how Prin Bucks work.
“I recognize that it is not a fair amount to share between pub and c-store because we have been getting feedback, but it’s subject to change,” he said. “This is a brand new opportunity to evolve over the course of the semester, and this is our learning semester. … We are looking into flat prices at the pub that are a bit more accessible.”
