Campus dining officials seem more worried about promoting J Street's Metro Diner via social media than actually making improvements to its food options.
Clogging a student’s Twitter feed with photos of scrambled eggs and french fries might be a decent way to momentarily steal some attention, but pictures of expensive food won’t increase satisfaction with J Street. And it won't make the food any cheaper.
Until J Street finds a way to differentiate itself from other venues on and near campus, it will continue to struggle.
Give students an “all-you-can-eat” meal plan so they can load up on as much food as they want without draining their GWorld money.
J Street is caught in a vicious cycle: It has to fight to compete with local grocery stores, restaurants and food trucks. But unless it offers something the rest of the venues can’t – like more food for the same price – students will continue to bypass it.
Allowing students to pay per meal as opposed to paying by the weight of their plates would make J Street a more affordable º– and thus more attractive – dining option.
J Street could adopt Boston University’s model, which offers an “all-you-can-eat” meal plan, in addition to dollars similar to Colonial Cash, in which points can be used at various restaurants on and off campus.
There’s already evidence to suggest this kind of meal plan would be popular here. The Annual Freshman Feast, an all-you-can-eat special at J Street, has been extremely popular with students over the years and could be used as a blueprint for a new plan. Approximately 900 students attended the event last year, a record turnout, The Hatchet reported Sept. 17.
Last year's dramatic dining overhaul swapped out the majority of venues and physically transformed the dining hall, but it failed to actually increase sales.
But if students felt they were getting more food for the same price, they might reconsider stopping at Whole Foods Market after class and instead fill their plates at J Street.
In the food and restaurant industry, reputation matters. The bad taste left in students’ mouths from an expensive and sub par dining experience will not go away unless you give it a reason to.
Benjamin Krimmel, a junior majoring in international affairs, is a Hatchet columnist.
I’m a transfer student from a school that used a similar plan. You had a meal allowance, and you were allowed a limited amount of meals on your account (if I remember correctly, three meals per weekday, two on the weekend), all paid for by room and board cost which was far more modest than GW’s. Despite the fact that there were some good restaurants in town at decent prices, nearly everyone showed up even though the food was far from spectacular. The school continued to make a profit on meals, and students didn’t have to worry about budgeting their accounts to have a meal.
As the parent of a GWU freshman I completely agree with the sentiments expressed here. While the meal plan, i.e. Colonial Cash, is a relatively expensive program, if one does the math it equates to a budget of about $13/day. I’ve heard first hand the complaints about the cost and quality of the offerings at J Street and agree that a “per meal” or “all-you-can-eat” program would increase traffic, keep students on campus, and create a better environment. It would also help students (and parents) better manage their Colonial Cash accounts over the course of the year.
This idea is too time-tested and successful to ever be implemented here.
I challenge any student to eat three nutritional meals on a budget of approx. $14/day (average daily amount for meal plan) especially in D.C. It’s impossible. I made many phone calls and sent emails hoping that if I was just one of many doing the same, maybe something would get done. Unless parents and students start complaining about the food plan, nothing will change to ensure that students at G.W will be eating a full and healthy diet. No student should go to bed feeling hungry. There will not be any “freshman fifteen” the way the plan is now.
I agree parents and students should complain about the insufficient “board” at GW. When we GW parents were students, all universities had all-you-can-eat meal plans. We paid one lump sum per year based on either a 7-, 14-, or 21-meals a week plan, checked in at each meal, and ate our fill. Our parents never had to send us more money for food half-way through the year.
While GW doesn’t raise tuition once students are accepted, it seems it does get more money from students for both food and the more expensive housing options for upperclassmen…