Students in residence eating up new meal plan
Tatiana Lebedeva, Layout Editor
Susan McIlwain completes a transaction for a student living in residence at Paterson
GlobalFoods Institute. THE PROJECTOR/Tatiana Lebedeva
What, where and how am I going to eat?
Thanks to a few changes in Red River College’s meal plans, students might have to rethink their answers.
Last year, campus living and Paterson GlobalFoods Institute (PGI) food services surveyed students in residence about their experiences. The results prompted them to take action.
Kylie Clark, manager of campus living, said many of the new changes “have to do with where students are attending classes.”
Last year, students attending the Language Training Centre often couldn’t travel to the EDC or NDC to purchase meals during lunch, so they never used their meal plan balances. This year, RRC will allow these students and others, who are enrolled in a program that isn’t delivered at NDC or EDC, to opt out or choose an altered meal plan.
RRC is also changing the meals themselves.
Last year, PGI’s menu changed every week during the first semester and biweekly throughout the second semester. For this school year, PGI will offer a new, fixed menu with more options, starting Sept. 21.
Paterson GlobalFoods Institute’s staff is ready to present the new menu on Sept. 21.
PGI has also extended its hours of operation. As of Sept. 19, students can dine from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends and for weekday dinners between 4 and 7:30 p.m.
Each single room in residence contains a mini fridge and a microwave, and each double room has a full-size fridge, a microwave, a sink, cupboards and countertop space. Students aren’t allowed stovetops, hotplates, toasters or other heating devices in residence.
“Students are not allowed to cook in residence because it’s a safety hazard,” said Murray Hiebert, EDC’s maintenance manager. “We are looking into [building] a common kitchen facility, but we can’t just turn one of the lounges into the kitchen.”
Students are passionate about meal plans because they really rely on them for brain food. All students living in residence at PGI, and who attend a program offered at NDC or EDC, must purchase a meal plan, which acts as an e-wallet. Students pay one of three a fixed dollar amounts at the start of each semester and then draw from that amount throughout the term when buying food at PGI, EDC or NDC.
The plans range from $1,315 to $2,025 for four-month terms, according to the new Meal Plan Contract.
