The Dining Commons is the cheapest place on campus to get food, if you sign up for a plan. There are no meal prepaid meal plans that end up costing more than $2.74 a meal, and it’s always all you can eat. It doesn’t matter whether you live on campus or off, are a student, a faculty member or on staff the rates per meal are the same. Campus residents just pay by the year while commuters pay by the semester.

The Dining Commons is run through University Enterprises Incorporated and is one of only two nonprofit restaurants on campus. 

“We are committed to providing the best possible experience we can while working diligently to keep the costs of meal plans at the most affordable rates possible.”   said Dining Commons director Steven Davis.

To do this Davis, and the Dining Commons employ some very economical techniques to keep their costs down. 

“We monitor our production based on current and past histories through computer software. This gives us information about overall customer counts, ebbs and flows during the day so we avoid food waste due to time constraints, adherence to recipes, and appropriate purchasing to have the right type and quantity on hand,” said Davis.

Two years ago the Dining Commons stopped using cafeteria trays, forcing students to carry their cups and plates in their hands. Davis said this has lowered their overhead by decreasing food waste and water consumption. The restaurant also gets regular maintenance on their appliances making sure they are working at peak hydro and electrical efficiency. 

“The Dining Commons exists to support the living accommodations for the students on the campus. They are not profit driven, but they have to provide a margin so that they can continue to invest. We just put a lot of money, two years ago, into the dining area itself,” said President Alexander Gonzalez. 

There are currently about 1,700 students with meal plans. The cheapest plan is $822 a semester or $2.61 per/meal. The most expensive is $1,970 per semester or $2.08 per/meal. 

In the battle of the competing interests between feeding people and making money the Dining Commons stands on the side of stopping student hunger.