• Meal exchange options in the Alumni Memorial Union are a better deal for students with Loyalty 50 meal plans than for students who have Block 125 or 175 or Carte Blanche plans.
• Students end up losing money depending on their block plan and what meal exchange option they get in the AMU.
• Even so, many freshmen and sophomore students with block and Carte Blanche meal plans say they're happy to have the meal exchange option available.

Students have told the university that the new meal exchange option built into meal plans is a good feature because of greater convenience and variety of dining options.

Still, some students have complained about portion size, limited meal choice and value of the meal exchange options in Marquette Place in the Alumni Memorial Union.

"I definitely think I would save money if I paid for all my meals in cash instead of having to buy a meal plan," said Eric Morris, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration.

"I would get more food and have more options," Morris said.

As a university policy, all students living in residence halls are required to purchase a meal plan each semester. It would be almost impossible for students to eat healthily without a meal plan, said Rick Arcuri, the associate dean for administration in the Office of Residence Life.

"Most of the students who live in dorms don't have kitchens or the materials they need to eat healthy," Arcuri said. "Sodexho (the university food service provider) is better equipped to serve students nutritious meals than students could make themselves."

For this reason, all freshman and sophomore students living in dorms must choose between the Block 125, Block 175 or Carte Blanche dining plan.

According to the Marquette Dining Services Web site, the Block 125 meal plan costs $1,490 ($11.92 per meal), the Block 175 meal plan costs $1,620 ($9.26 per meal) and the unlimited Carte Blanche costs $1,800 per semester.

A student would have to eat 195 meals in a semester for the Carte Blanche plan to have a swipe value equal to Block 175. Any meals over 195 would make the Carte Blanche a better deal.

Arcuri said the different dining plans are designed to serve different purposes.

"For the big eater, the Carte Blanche is best," Arcuri said. "For someone who doesn't eat two or three meals every day, a block plan would be a better option to consider."

But as far as value goes, block meal plans do not transfer over well to meal exchange options. At the AMU's Marquette Place, salad and burrito meal exchange options are valued around $7, sandwich and burger options around $6 and sushi options around $5. Each meal exchange comes with a drink, adding less than $2.

By comparison, the Block 125 and 175 plans, valued between $9 and $12 per meal, are not cost efficient when eating at the AMU.

But these meal exchange options are considered a luxury by many sophomores, who until this year had to eat all of their meals in dining halls.

Arcuri said that he believes the value of all university meal plans has increased this year from years past.

"Students like that we've opened the system up in the way we have," Arcuri said. "They are very happy to come and go in the AMU, and the new cafeteria in Schroeder has been well-received."

The Loyalty 50 dining plan is an option for faculty, staff, administration and students who don't live in residence halls. The plan costs $285 — $5.70 per meal — which is much more cost efficient when it comes to the meal exchange in the AMU.

"It's a plan that is geared for students who live in apartments or off-campus, who will only take lunch a few times a week," Arcuri said. "It's called the Loyalty 50 because the plan is for students who have lived with us for a couple of years already and are familiar with the meal plan system."

Tyler Boschuetz, a junior in the College of Health Sciences, ran out of meals on his Loyalty 50 plan last week.

"I really liked it a lot. It was convenient to use," Boschuetz said. "I don't go to the dining halls anymore, but I come to the AMU a lot."