By Brenna Everdale

Due to the recent replacement of Java City with a Starbucks, KU has one less dining location that accepts meals as a form of payment. As a student living on campus, it is now even more important to be conservative with your Flex if you do not want to end up spending more than the $1439 to $1709 you are already paying for a meal plan.

In my experience, the best meal plan option is the 175 Block Plan. The default plan on campus is the 14 Premium Meal Plan. According to the KU Dining web page, “Premium Meal Plans provide students with a set number of meals to use each week, Monday through Sunday. Every Monday morning, the premium meal plan resets to 19, 14, or 10 new meals to use through Sunday late night. Any meals not used in the previous week are forfeited.” So, if you eat too many times in one week, then you can’t eat at the end of the week. If you don’t eat enough times, you lose meals that you paid for.

In addition, “Premium Meal Plans must be used in accordance with the meal zones.” This is why if you eat lunch late, you might not be allowed to get dinner, and you have to use your Flex any time you get a piece of cheese or lettuce on your sandwich. The block plans allow you to use your meals at any time you wish, and you can even use two meals at once if you don’t want to spend your Flex.

I have never run out of meals using this plan. In fact, I still have trouble spending them all. But if you’re determined, there are a few good ways to spend them. You can buy pizzas for a meeting or event. You can buy cookies, fruit or bottled water to save for later. Since you can use them to get friends into South Side Cafe, they can even function as extra guest meals.

If you want to switch to a Block Plan, you have to contact KU Dining Services at 610-683-1314, or by email at kudiningservices@kutztown.edu. You can also visit the office at 106 Old Main, “A” Wing. Sorry, KU, but you cannot trick us into sticking with a plan that is designed to make us miss out on meals just by putting a nice word like “premium” in front of it.