Student use of housing meal coupons declines

Meal coupons that allow dorm residents to get discounts at
on-campus food venues have lost their appeal, due in part to the
opening of De Neve Plaza’s dining hall and lack of student
knowledge about the program.

At the last Associated Students of UCLA’s board of
directors meeting, student union officials announced that meal
coupon usage has dropped by 44 percent.

Michael Foraker, director of housing and hospitality services,
said that though “there isn’t a singular cause”
for the low meal coupon usage, he speculated that because De Neve
is closest to campus, resident hall students no longer need to walk
as far to eat.

The coupon decline does not hurt housing financially, Foraker
said, adding that the coupon program is in no danger of being
withdrawn.

Those are words of relief to second-year microbiology student
Miles Morimoto, who needs to use meal coupons almost every day
because he goes directly to work after a full day of classes. As a
result, he rarely eats lunch in the dorms.

“I don’t like how inconvenient it is to have to walk
back (to the dorms),” he said.

Board members also pointed out that the low interest in meal
coupons could be attributed to the expanded food options and hours
instilled by the housing administration two years ago ““
eateries like Puzzles close at 2 a.m. now.

“There’s only five hours when the hill isn’t
serving any food, and that’s when everyone is
sleeping,” said Dria Fearn, who serves on the the
board’s finance committee.

Caruso’s and Puzzles, two residential eateries that
feature “grab and go” options, could also play a part
in the decrease of meal coupon usage, said Connie Foster, the
director of residential dining.

“If it’s grab and go, it’s more convenient to
bring to class and they don’t have to get it off site,”
Foster said.

To publicize the meal coupon program, ASUCLA officials are
considering handing out fliers on Bruin Walk to make more students
aware of this alternative dining option, since there are still
students on the Hill who remain clueless about the coupons.

“I wasn’t informed about it,” said second-year
cognitive science student Mylene Ranchos. “Maybe I heard
something about it last year, but then forgot about it.”

When residents find themselves on campus for most of the day
without feasible access to dining halls, many rely on meal coupons
that deduct $1.55 off the price of lunch or $1.60 off for dinner at
any ASUCLA restaurant such as Panda Express or Rubio’s. For
every coupon used, one meal is subtracted from their meal plan.

The decline in meal coupon popularity can also be attributed to
students’ beliefs that the $1.55 lunch discount is not enough
““ prompting some of them to just skip lunch altogether.

“I used (the meal coupons) once, and it didn’t take
off anything,” said first-year undeclared student Quyen Ngo.
“I’m just skipping lunch now ““ sack lunches are
too much of a bother.”

Sack lunches, where residents can make their own sandwiches to
go, are another option for residents who are on-campus most of the
day and unable to eat at the dining halls.

Second-year neuroscience student Wes Gifford is another student
who refuses to use meal coupons consistently because of the
unsubstantial discount. He prefers sack lunches instead.

“If meal coupons were worth a full meal, it would be
different,” he said.

Students like Morimoto who rely heavily on meal coupons need to
find inexpensive meals, since their maximum discount ““ the
coupons can be combined for a single meal and ASUCLA adds 30 cents
per coupon ““ is $3.75.

“Sometimes the eateries have some deals and sometimes I
can get an entire meal with a dorm coupon,” Morimoto said,
adding that purchasing his lunch from ASUCLA restaurants is a
welcome change from the monotony of eating dorm food all the
time.