Meal Plans Are Royally Forked Up.

Loyola’s meal plan policy isn’t about feeding students — it’s about squeezing money out of them. The university’s meal plans are expensive, often inaccessible and mandatory for all first and second-year students — even those with kitchens in their dorms.

There are two meal plan options — the 5-day All-Access Plan, which gives students unlimited swipes Monday through Friday, and the 7-day All-Access Plan, which adds weekend access. The requirement makes sense for students who live in dorms without kitchens — but the meal plan requirement doesn’t just apply to them. 

For the 2025-2026 school year, 13 out of 15 second-year dorms on Lake Shore Campus have in-unit kitchens or kitchenettes. This means students who are fully capable of cooking for themselves are forced to pay thousands of dollars for a meal plan they may not use.

The cost for meal plans is exorbitant. For a 5-day All-Access Plan, a student will pay $2,755 per semester, excluding the value of dining dollars, according to Residence Life. With 151 weekdays in the 2025-2026 academic year, students are paying roughly $36 a day — $252 a week — on their meal plan. 

For context, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service estimates the average cost of food for 18 year olds on a moderate budget is $89 per week. Loyola students on a five-day plan are paying nearly triple that rate.

So what are we actually getting for all this money? Not flexibility, and certainly not value. While the meal plan gives unlimited swipes, campus dining is limited in every other way. Options for students with dietary restrictions are often sparse or unappealing.

Being vegan or vegetarian or having religious restrictions like a Halal diet aren’t grounds for opting out of the meal plan, according to Residence Life. Loyola’s dining halls have also failed to meet health and safety inspections in the past, The Phoenix previously reported. This year, Damen Dining Hall failed two out of three of its health and safety inspections, according to City of Chicago data.

Another issue with meal plans is they aren’t all accessible. All dining halls are closed by 9 p.m., excluding de Nobili Dining Hall which stays open until 11 p.m. on weekdays. Even with an “All-Access” dining plan, students are left with vending machines or eating out, forcing them to pay out of pocket for food — adding to their already high costs of the meal plan. 

Dining halls are also inconveniently located in relation to residence halls. Students in Bellarmine Hall face a quarter-mile walk to use their meal plan. For students juggling class, work and extracurriculars, trekking across campus is a real obstacle.

Residence Life says meal plans are “an important part of the residential experience in that it builds connections within the residence hall and campus communities,” according to their website. But mandating meal plans doesn’t ensure any connection — only financial burden. 

Students deserve a meal system that works for their needs. This means meal plans that are affordable, flexible and, most importantly, optional — especially for students who have kitchens. It means staying open later for student workers and night owls. 

In the meantime, here’s an important reminder — students can take food out of the dining halls, saving snacks for late-night hours. Since students are already paying so much, I encourage everyone to take as much food out of the dining halls as they can. Load up on apples, take those cookies and fill up your bottle at the soda fountain. Get your $30 worth of food every day.