Maggie Reid, Staff Writer

When Utica College students are hungry, they have the option of either going to the cafeteria, Pioneer Café, or going off campus. The most convenient option for busy students on the go is to stay on campus, and some students had strong opinions on where they would rather eat.

“I prefer to pay a little extra to eat downstairs with my declining balance,” said sophomore Joshua Moeckel.

“In Pio, it’s consistently made, while in the cafeteria, there are not many options. I am not content with the Café’ food, there are often times where I go down there and don’t want to eat. I feel like I am paying too much for a meal plan for food that I don’t want. But being a student athlete, I have to eat and have no choice when my money runs low.”

Students shared similar viewpoints about the quality of the food in the Café.

“I would pay more to eat in Pio because the Café is just terrible,” said sophomore Tyler Wright.

“The Caf never has enough to feed everybody, they don’t have enough forks, cups and plates. Then they replace them with tiny plastic cups and utensils, which just gets annoying. The food quality is absolutely miserable and it is not worth the money because the prices are way too high. I feel like I am paying a ridiculous amount for food that I would rather not eat, ever, if I had the choice.”

Each semester, you have the option of purchasing a platinum plan or a gold plan. The platinum plan cost $2,900 a semester with $200 declining balance. The gold plan cost $2,800 a semester and includes $100 in declining balance. You can spend your declining balance at Pio, Subway, Le Bistro and Common Grounds.

For the same price as a Gold plan, you can purchase a 10 Roll over plan or a 140 block plan. The 10 Roll over plan includes 10 meals a week and $200 in declining balance and unused meals roll over each week. The 140 block plan includes 140 meals a semester plus $200 in declining balance. For $2700 a semester, you can also purchase a seven roll over plan, which includes seven meals a week with $300 in declining balance. The prices in Pio vary from $1.39- $8.99.

One student had a particularly strong view about the quality of food served in the Café.

“I hate the food here, it’s one of the reasons why I’m transferring.” said freshman Mitchell Marlowe.

“I prefer to eat at the caf because it is already paid for.” said sophomore Jenessa McCabe.

“The food there is disgusting and not very healthy. Paying that much money a semester for a meal plan is ridiculous, especially for food that I don’t even like. If something is not good for my body, then I won’t eat it, which is why I don’t spend a lot of my declining balance at Pio. With the caf, I don’t really have a choice.”

“Well with the Cafe and Pio, you still have to pay to eat at either one,” said sophomore Jon Kulpa.

“I feel like it is more expensive to eat at Pio, but it is better quality and you have more choices than you would at the Cafe.”