University of Kentucky sophomore Nya Shackles takes 15 credit hours and works 36 hours a week. After her shift is over, she heads to Champions Kitchen for a meal, but the lines are out the door. 

Like many other students, Shackles chooses to forgo the dining hall to eat at a campus restaurant instead. But here’s the problem. Once her Flex dollars run out, she’s left without options for meals. 

Meal swipes can only be used at Champions Kitchen (Champs) and the Fresh Food Company (The 90). Flex dollars can be spent at campus restaurants and markets, such as Chick-fil-A, Panda Express, Subway, Starbucks and the Wildcat Pantry. 

One meal costs $11.65 at Champs and The 90, which is more expensive than many options at campus restaurants. 

“I think that UK isn’t very accommodating to the students on campus that are independent students,” Shackles said. “I’m an independent student and everything comes out of my pocket. Even though I don’t eat in the dining halls, I still have a meal plan. It’s extremely expensive for no reason.” 

Students living in undergraduate dorms are required to purchase one of several meal plans:

• Weekly 10: 10 meal swipes per week, costs $1,747 per semester and provides $75 Flex dollars. 
• All Access Blue: unlimited meal swipes, costs $2,249 per semester and provides $250 Flex dollars. 
• All Access White: unlimited meal swipes, costs $2,356 per semester and provides $400 Flex dollars. 

When students run out of Flex dollars, they can add more funds to their Plus account. However, students are still paying out of pocket for Plus funds. 

When senior Bryce Huff had a meal plan, he didn’t see the value in adding more Flex dollars. 

“I remember when I was a freshman, I would just ask my parents for money instead of Flex,” Huff said. “You’re paying the same amount. If I had real money, I could go to the Local Taco or McDonald’s or Chipotle. We don’t have those on campus, so the Flex really kind of limits real money.”

Not every student can afford to buy a meal plan or add Plus funds to their account. These expenses make it especially difficult for low income and financially independent students. 

“There are certain things we could put our money toward aside from meal plans,” Shackles said. 

As college students, we have multiple expenses to worry about, including housing, books and transportation. Adding an expensive meal plan doesn’t help matters. 

The most affordable meal plan doesn’t allow students to eat at the dining hall multiple times every day. With only 10 swipes a week and $75 Flex dollars, students must still eat at restaurants or buy groceries. 

As a freshman with the lowest meal plan, I can confirm this. During the week, I eat two meals a day at the dining hall but am left without meals on the weekend. I usually order food from DoorDash or go to restaurants off campus, which gets really expensive. 

Despite having a communal kitchen in my dorm building, I choose not to cook for two reasons: we don’t have enough storage space in our fridge, and the kitchen usually isn’t kept clean. 

I’ve also had multiple experiences where my meal swipes are wasted at the dining hall. Occasionally, I go into The 90 and none of the food options are appetizing, so I leave without eating. It’s frustrating since meal swipes don’t reset until Sunday. 

Food insecurity is a prevalent issue on college campuses, and UK is no exception. According to an anonymous 2019 survey taken at UK, 43% out of the 2,000 students surveyed experienced food insecurity on campus. 

Junior Izzy Holloway doesn’t believe the dining halls accommodate her dietary restrictions. As a result, she chooses to eat elsewhere. 

“I prefer to eat vegetarian and vegan meals, and there’s not really a lot of options. Granted, every year it has increased the options, but it’s still not enough, especially for students who are strictly on those diets,” she said. 

It wasn’t always this way. According to Holloway, UK offered a meal swipe exchange option during the 2020-2021 school year. This allowed students to use one meal swipe per day at restaurants on campus. 

“Because they didn’t want everybody in the dining halls all at once, they allowed kids to use their meal swipes at Chick-fil-A, Panda Express and Subway. They had food trucks all around campus. It was a lot better than what it is now,” Holloway said. 

Meal swipe exchange programs are offered at other universities, including the University of Louisville and Western Kentucky University.

With the cost of meal plans, lack of options at the dining hall and high rates of food insecurity, students’ needs aren’t being met. 

How many times do we have to say it? We’re tired, and most importantly, we’re hungry. The conversation isn’t over until students are no longer an afterthought.