Asa Daniels, senior staff writer

Aramark made a number of changes to the meal plans that Berry College students can use for the 2021-2022 academic year. They made adjustments to certain meal plans, including adding flex bucks to specific plans, though there were no changes to the Flex Bucks plan.

The Any 7 meal plan became the Any 10 meal plan, including an additional $75 flex bucks. The previous Any 10 plan replaced the Any 14 meal plan. The Block 80 plan, often used by commuters, changed to the Block 50 plan, which has $400 flex bucks. Further, all meal plans, except the Flex Bucks plan, now have five guest meals, allowing students to buy family and off-campus friends a meal.

Ian Mungo, Aramark general manager, said that the changes were made so that more students had the opportunity to have food to eat.

“We added additional meal swipes to plans at no additional cost to our student community, in order to mitigate the increasing pressure on food insecurity some of our campus community is facing,” Mungo said.

Aramark Senior District Marketing Manager, Megan Corcoran Church, added that the plans were adjusted so that students had opportunities to eat at Berry through their swipes or flex bucks.

“We did see an uptick in usage on the weekly 7 and 10 plans in the last few years, so adding the additional meals and flex bucks ensures every student has enough visits per week and flex bucks to spend throughout campus,” Church said.

The change of the Block 80 plan into the Block 50 plan, which added more flex bucks, was made with commuter students in mind, Church explained.

“The Block 50 is an upgrade option for students commuting, who are looking to have access to D-Hall a few days per week, in addition to $400 flex bucks,” Church said. “So far, this plan has been well received and meeting our commuters’ current needs more effectively than the Block 80.”

There were no changes made to the Flex Bucks only plan itself, with $515 flex bucks and no guest meals or swipes.