After a year of sneaking food, dishes and utensils out of UCLA’s residential restaurants, Ashlyn stopped to wonder why they did it in the first place.

“I tried to take a lot of the bread, the sweet bread,” said the student, who was granted partial anonymity out of fear of retaliation from UCLA Housing-Dining. “My pockets were so full, and I looked crazy walking out of B Plate (Bruin Plate), but the dining hall workers never said anything.”

Dining halls on the Hill are divided into two categories – sit-down residential restaurants and quick-service take-out locations, according to the UCLA Housing-Dining website. Signs reading “No food to exit the restaurant” are posted at the doors of residential restaurant locations – a policy implemented in 2023, a UCLA Housing-Dining spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The spokesperson said in the statement that the no-takeout policy was designed to keep people from misusing dining hall resources and the all-you-care-to-eat model. They added in the statement that taking items creates “additional costs that cannot be absorbed without consequence” and could eventually lead to increased meal plan prices for all students.

Ashlyn said they started taking food out during their freshman year for fun and to stock up on snacks. Pocketing fruits, chicken thighs and the occasional mug soon became more of a challenge than a necessity, they said, until they decided to stop taking items out entirely.

“I took mugs, cups, … a Tapatio hot sauce container from B Plate,” Ashlyn added. “But then I never used it. And then, I was like, ‘Okay, I don’t need to be stealing anymore.’ So I haven’t taken anything this year because … I have the stuff I need.”

Lora, another student who was granted partial anonymity due to fear of retaliation from UCLA Housing-Dining, said they were able to make it out of Epicuria at Covel with a tote bag containing extra cookies. However, they said others are not always as lucky – a friend who tried to take extra side dishes from Bruin Café was immediately stopped.

Another student, Andy – who was granted partial anonymity due to fear of retaliation from UCLA Housing-Dining – said they believe long days of classes and an inconvenient window of time to use meal swipes on campus contributes to students sneaking food out of the Hill’s restaurants. Students are only able to use meal swipes at on-campus ASUCLA restaurants from 11 a.m. to 3:59 p.m on weekdays, according to ASUCLA.

[Related: UCLA announces ASUCLA meal swipes will only be accepted at lunch hours on weekdays]

Andy added that they had recently had a confrontation with a B Plate staff member, after which they ignored the staff member’s instructions to put back an apple they had taken to eat outside the dining hall.

“I took it and walked out,” Andy said. “I felt like a freaking boss that day.”

Lora said food is not the only item people take, adding that they have also taken multiple plates after realizing they needed dishes for their dorm. Ashlyn also said the mugs they took were needed, and they use them often, adding they believe UCLA accounts for the potential of missing dishes in its budget.

Francesca, a student who currently lives off campus but was granted partial anonymity due to fear of retaliation from UCLA Housing, said their family also joined them in taking out fruits from residential restaurants to snack on when they visited.

One campus visitor and friend of a student – who asked to remain anonymous to avoid impacting their UCLA application – said they took food out of dining halls while visiting friends on campus, adding that they were experiencing homelessness at the time.

Ashlyn also said their reasons for taking food varied from being hungry to sneaking out bananas from a dining hall for a banana Halloween costume. They added that they do not see an issue with food being taken out as long as it is not wasted.

Andy said they believe the current regulations preventing students from taking out food make it difficult for students to get the full value out of their meal swipes. They also said some people need to take out food to ensure they eat enough.

“The fundamental principle of this law is bogus,” they said. “I don’t know what UCLA loses from somebody taking an apple.”

The UCLA Housing-Dining spokesperson said staff only manage to report very few of the students who take out food from the dining halls. The spokesperson added that taking food can lead to student conduct reports. Staff work to “foster a respectful dining environment” and prevent food from being taken, they said.

Ashlyn said they often see other items taken by students around campus.

“I remember on my floor last year, I walked into the lounge, and they had one of the wooden napkin holders. Someone snuck that out of De Neve (Residential Restaurant),” Ashlyn said. “It sat in our lounge for a little bit, and it had the napkins that were in it. That was funny. (I’m) not sure who took it or why they took it, but I think those are some funny moments I remember.”