Meal plans are an important aspect of the college experience for many Mississippi State University students. Freshmen are automatically enrolled in a meal plan at the start of the year, while commuters and upperclassmen are encouraged to enroll in one at the start of every semester. For many students, a meal plan allows students access to numerous food options.
According to MSU Dining Services, seven unique meal plans are available for students, but first-year freshmen can only select from three. Prices for these meal plans range from hundreds to thousands of dollars and are a two-semester commitment.
The current meal plan system has been a part of the MSU experience for over a decade. Improvements to the original meal plan occurred in 2010, allowing students the ability to utilize Block Meals at various retail locations on campus. Since then, the meal plan system has relatively remained the same and has not expanded to meet the current demands of students. It needs improvements.
Block Meals are passes to get into any cafeteria on campus and are included with every meal plan except the Flex plan. They can be used at various retail locations across campus for a $6.58 credit under the meal equivalency program. However, meal equivalency can only be utilized at certain times at specific restaurants, and not even for a full meal, which costs more than $6.58 usually, discouraging many students from using the program.
While Block Meals can be utilized at any time throughout the day at cafeterias, meal equivalency can only be redeemed twice in one day, once from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and then again after 9 p.m., when most restaurants have already closed. The restriction is inopportune for many students, most of whom are on campus and near the restaurants during the day because of classes, hours before the meal equivalency period begins.
Retail locations on campus like Chick-fil-A, Subway and Einstein Bros. Bagels feel the busiest during lunch. Many students standing in lines at that time have meal plans and would enjoy being able to utilize meal equivalency to pay for a portion of their meals. Allowing students to use meal equivalency more times throughout the day will allow for more Flexibility in the usage of meal plans. 
Meal plans can become even more Flexible with more locations for students to utilize their meal plans by partnering with local restaurants and food services. According to Auburn Tiger Dining, Auburn University has 30 dining locations and seven different food trucks that accept their meal plan. Meanwhile, according to Vanderbilt University’s dining services website, students can utilize their “commodore cash” at certain partner restaurants in Nashville, TN. If MSU could foster similar connection with restaurants in Starkville, students could have more options, both on campus and off.
MSU has the opportunity to expand its dining locations incorporated within its meal plans by implementing systems similar to the ones above. Local restaurants and food trucks can become included in the meal plans and offer students a chance to try various Starkville restaurants. With improvements to the meal plan system, MSU could improve the dining experience for many of its students by allowing greater Flexibility and options in the plans.