Paying $15 for a salad might make sense if it were from Sweetgreen. But it’s not—it’s from Mac.

This is the reality Boston College students encounter in their dining halls, which charge restaurant-level prices. 

The University should subsidize BC Dining and make food more affordable for students. 

Financially independent from the University, BC Dining aims to break even. As of 2017, 37.1 percent of its budget goes toward food costs, 32.4 percent toward labor costs, 10.7 percent toward fringe costs, 7.7 percent toward rent, alongside additional facility maintenance and operating costs. 

BC Dining charges astronomical amounts for basic items. 

For breakfast, you can grab a banana for $1.65 (they’re $0.29 each at Trader Joe’s), pay more than $8 for a Core Power (or head to Richdale Food Shops to get one for $4.49), or get a cup of pre-sliced honeydew for $5.65 (a whole honeydew costs $4.99 at Star Market). 

When lunch comes around, the costs do not go down. A grab-and-go sandwich will cost you almost $10, a 24-ounce salad is $14.95, and an Eagles’ Bowl is $14.75. These costs quickly begin to add up.

How are students on the default plan supposed to navigate these prices when their daily budgets are set at $33? 

We understand that BC Dining’s pay-per-item system dodges a common issue surrounding all-you-can-eat meal plans: that students who take less food with their swipes end up paying the same price as those who take more. 

We’re not saying the a-la-carte model is the wrong one, just that its meals don’t have to be so pricey.

BC Dining runs a break-even operation—it has no intention of profiting off students. But to pay its workers, rent, and overhead costs, it hikes prices. To make this model work, BC should subsidize BC Dining’s costs so that the burden doesn’t fall onto students. 

Subsidizing dining would be costly. The concern would be, of course, that BC would offset these subsidies by increasing tuition, pushing the cost back onto students. 

Look—spending money to lower food costs isn’t sexy. It’s probably not going to come up on an admissions tour. But it is important. BC undoubtedly has the money for large capital expenditures—it just needs to understand that affordable student nutrition is a worthwhile investment.

It’s time to fix the issues surrounding our meal plans. The University needs to support BC Dining to help reduce prices for students.

After all, every student has to eat. BC must take responsibility for making it affordable.