Next semester's U. apartment meal plan policy explained

Starting in the upcoming Fall 2023 semester, Rutgers—New Brunswick students living in any of the on-campus University apartments will have an optional meal plan automatically added to their term bill, according to a statement from the University to The Daily Targum. 

The change applies to undergraduate students living in the Henderson apartments on the Douglass campus, the Newell and Starkey apartments on the Cook campus and University Center at Easton Avenue and Sojourner Truth Apartments on the College Avenue campus.

Students living in the Livingston apartments on the Livingston campus and the Nichols, Richardson and Silvers apartments on the Busch campus will also be automatically assigned meal plans.

Previously students living in those apartments who wanted a meal plan had to manually add the plan through a University Student Affairs portal.

Now they will already have 50 swipe meal plan loaded onto their term bill and will have the first two weeks of the semester to unenroll from it via the website.

In a statement to the Targum, University officials cite a campus-wide research study conducted in 2020 for the change in policy.

The research analyzed food insecurity among undergraduate students and found that 31.5 percent of undergraduate students experienced food insecurity and that meal plans lower their risk.

On social media, individuals shared their thoughts on the University's actions, with one user pointing out that students can still access the dining hall without a meal plan by paying each visit, making them question why they implemented the change.

Another user questioned why Rutgers made this change regarding meal plans while takeout options from dining halls on the College Avenue campus and the Livingston campus are unavailable.

Meal plans cost between $949 to $3,047 per semester, and 40 percent of University apartment residents already have a meal plan, according to the Dining Services website.