A new meal plan will be introduced at the University of Northern British Columbia this fall with first-year students living on campus becoming mandatory members at a cost of $500 per month.
In exchange, they will get all-day, seven-days-a-week access to a dining hall where they can get meals prepared by staff or cook up their own meals at a "myPantry" station with food provided at the hall.
The campus cafeteria will be converted into the dining hall. Students not living in residence will be able to sign onto the meal plan or pay $10 per entry into the dining hall.
The mandatory meal plan means between 200 and 250 first-year students will provide the foundation for the service. In 2015-16, it will be expanded to include second-year students on a mandatory basis but it will remain an option for third and fourth-year students.
The changes come as Chartwells was selected as the new food services provider at UNBC.
"One of the things we've found in looking at universities that have a dining hall, it actually does create community because students are coming out together to go eat," UNBC ancillary service director Aaron Leblanc said.
"In your first and second year, these types of things are really good, especially when you're looking at mental health and getting people to socialize."
In answer to the loss of free seating at the cafeteria, "enhanced seating" will be added throughout the campus. A Subway and a Pizza by the Slice will also be added and a Good Earth Coffee will replace the on-campus Tim Hortons.
In the name of providing more beds for first and second year students, a major renovation is also in store for the student residence itself.
Details are still to be fleshed out, but portions of the residence will be converted from apartment style, with each unit containing its own kitchen, to units containing communal kitchens.
"We're in the middle of looking at how many we are going to do," Leblanc said. "A lot of people have been running around saying we're going to remove all of them and there's absolutely no truth to that. The third and fourth year students, as they mature, they're going to want their own kitchen facilities, so we have to respect that. We've always had in the plans to leave some kitchens in, we just need to find what that number is."
A demonstration suite has been opened to give students an idea of what UNBC has in mind. Students are invited to provide their feedback on furniture and layout.
Northern Undergraduate Student Society president Alden Chow limited his comments to saying
NUGSS is seeking clarification on the changes will provide a comment at a later date.
Leblanc said more information will be posted on the UNBC website in the coming days. Staff will be on hand to take students through the changes and field questions on Feb. 24 and 25, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Doug Little Lounge,
Leblanc is also welcoming questions and comments at [email protected].
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