With financial times being as they are, just about everything under the sun is going up in price. From gas to groceries, many people are experiencing the low-supply, high-demand economy first hand. However, the choices that A&T students have to make regarding food are becoming more and more difficult. How does this financial situation affect students here at A&T? How does having a meal plan compare to buying groceries? It may be slightly cheaper to buy groceries over a semester, but to have different options to eat from seems to be the better deal after all. With a meal plan, you are guaranteed a certain number of meals per week. There are 3,091 students with traditional meal plans (A, B, C, and Declining Balance) and 339 students with the Commuter plan. All freshmen and students living on-campus are required to have a meal plan and if they do not sign up for one, then Meal plan A is applied to their account based on their housing. Angela Peterson, the Director of Auxiliary Services, said that students do not usually struggle with whether to get a meal plan or not, but mainly which one to choose. “It is a little bit of the student’s preference in choosing a meal plan based on having secure meals. It depends on their class schedule and time spent on campus to determine which meal plan they choose. The Flex dollars are another factor in it; how many they get and the flexibility to use them in different places. Meal plan A id the most popular, followed by plan B.”  Demetria Burton is the Meal Plan Coordinator in Auxiliary Services, and believes that there are certain qualities about the café that cannot be replaced. “There is nothing to worry about when you come to the café. You can eat as much as you want and there are many choices. You can eat a full-course meal and it is more convenient.”Peterson added, “You can socialize with your friends and meet new people there. We have special events such as Fried Chicken Friday and Wing Night and theme nights like Carnival night and 70’s night.”Most students who live off-campus do not have meal plans. They buy their groceries from stores such as Food Lion and Wal-Mart. On-campus students are more likely to have meal plans and all freshmen living on campus are required to have meal plan A to make sure that they have a dependable source of food. Cortney Key is a freshman liberal studies major who lives on campus in Morrow Hall. She has meal plan A, but it is only because she is required to. She said that she usually shops at Walmart for fruits and vegetables or goes to a friend’s house to eat outside of the café. “I probably would not have a meal plan if I were not required to. I only eat in the café for breakfast and lunch.” Most meal plans come with flex dollars, which allow students to dine in the places on campus, such as Pizza Hut and Chick-Fil-A. Although there are perks that come with having a meal plan, most off-campus students still do not prefer having one.Dana Underdue, a senior business management major, lives off-campus in Statesman Court and does not currently have a meal plan. She usually shops once a week at either Wal-Mart or Food Lion, and spends about $60 a week on groceries. “Mostly, I buy breakfast foods like eggs and bacon, milk, pizzas and salads. I sometimes get meats, canned vegetables and other stuff like fish, shrimp, and chicken.”Underdue spends about $60 a week, which comes up to $960 for 16 weeks of the semester. Meal plan A (19-meals/week) comes up to 3 meals a day and costs $1,150.50 per semester. Although there is almost a $200 difference, $50 in flex dollars and a guaranteed 3 balanced meals a day should be taken into consideration. Underdue does not usually eat 3 meals a day, which maybe the reason why her grocery bill is cheaper. Even if you save that money, you still will have to go back to the store in a week or two to get more groceries. In fact, you will be going to the store more often if you mostly get snacks and do not prepare full-course meals, like what is available in the café’.Another off-campus student without a meal plan is Alexis Alexander, a junior elementary education major. She said that she only shops for groceries at Wal-Mart and has not had a meal plan since freshman year. “I shop at Wal-Mart once a week for frozen foods and milk. I spend about $30 a week.”After your freshman year, it is optional to have a meal plan, and some students look forward to not depending on the café as their primary source of food. There is a good amount of students who eat there on a regular basis. They even have an off-campus meal plans to cater to those students. The reason for this is that most dormitories do not have full kitchens that are accessible to all of the students, and the only thing that they are allowed to have to prepare food with is a microwave.

• laporsha lowry