This semester, I have written a series of articles on prices at Fairfield University. So far, I have covered Red Stack Direct and the Spirit Shop. Today, I cover the price of meals on campus.
Students estimate that each meal swipe is worth about $18. So, do you get what you’ve paid for?
That depends, and not just on where you’re getting your food.
Let’s start with the Tully. For some meals, I’d say you actually do get pretty close. Keep in mind, a Chipotle burrito is around $12, and that’s before you add anything extra. If you get a burrito, plus a couple of Tully cookies, a cup of soda and an ice cream, you’re getting more than your money’s worth.
But what about breakfast?
Frankly, there is no world where an omelet and a bowl of fruit costs $18. And that’s the best you’re getting for breakfast, unfortunately. If you’re grabbing a couple of pancakes and a piece of French toast, you’re definitely not getting what you’ve paid for.
But let’s talk about the more interesting options.
The food trucks are a little tougher to estimate. The food seems pretty cheap, but if those trucks were on the streets of Manhattan, I’d be willing to bet you’d be paying around $18 for the same stuff you get here. In this case, I hate to say that I think it’s actually worth the money, if only because food trucks have ridiculous margins on what they make.
The Levee is a different story. For one swipe, you can get two slices of pizza and a drink. A slice of pizza in New York is worth $10. It is at Joe’s, anyway. Asking $18 is insane. Or, how about a grilled cheese, some fries, and a drink? That lemonade is worth $2, the fries are worth $3, and, if I’m being generous, the grilled cheese might be worth $7, but it should really be more like $5.
Don’t even get me started on the Stag Diner.
There is something to be said for the unlimited meal plan, though. Yes, on traditional meal plans the cost averages out to about $18 a meal, but on the unlimited, it averages out to whatever you want it to average out to. Do you want to eat five meals in a single day? Go for it! Do you want to stay in the Tully for three hours and get four different meals? Why not? With the unlimited plan, it’s a free-for-all, and I truly think it’s a good deal.
But for the upperclassmen who live in houses on campus or on the beach, the limited meal plans might just not be worth it. After all, in many cases, it’s significantly cheaper to cook your own meals, and it might just be healthier. A complaint I hear often is that it’s hard to track your calories or your macros on a meal plan, and there’s definitely some merit to that.
I can say this: if Fairfield has one thing going for it, it’s the Tully cookies. Those are worth a fortune.
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