Novel Eating Options
- Greg Harrison, Greg Jefferson, and Jordan Clay eat lunch in the school cafeteria.
Macon State College has adopted a meal program called, “The Dining Dollars Program;” it began spring semester, 2012. For many semesters, the company, Aramark, has provided catering services for the daily nutrition of students and faculty.
They have also been the company to provide food for special events held on and off campus for Macon State. Instead of simply supplying sandwiches here and there, Aramark, along with Macon State College, has now created a meal plan designed with four tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
The meal plans are designed for students and faculty members to purchase one of the tiers using either Financial Aid or their personal funding. The student’s I.D. card called, “The Blue Storm Card,” is now set-up to link any money placed on the card to the student’s individual meal plan option.
undefined | The Macon StatementStudent cards can be used at any of the three dining locations on campus. According to the Macon State College website, “The minimum deposit into the account is one hundred dollars,” which is the Bronze option, the “deposits may be made with cash, check, and debit/credit cards”.
Food Service Director, Bruce Gonsalves, aided in the construction of the food program. Gonsalves said, “Dining Dollars came about simply because of the growth of the college.
“As we continue to transfer from a community college to a residential community, it is essential that we start adding some type of meal plan for the students.”
Larry Thomas buys lunch with his i.d. card.
[/caption]Students are now able to purchase meals without having cash; student identification cards now have a dual use. Students that are currently utilizing the Dining Dollars Program, admire the program’s usefulness.
Mireille “Mimi” Bibole is a senior transfer student from Georgia College & State University at Milledgeville, Ga. Bibole said, “I would participate, but I can’t afford the choice payment plans that are offered right now. If I was working, I most likely would invest in the program.”
Bibole is an international student from Congo, Central Africa, so she is unable toreceive financial aid funding. She would love to participate in the program, but feels the tiers are a little too expensive.
Macon State’s website includes several rules and regulations concerning the use and participation of the dinning program, but for the students who have already begun to utilize the novel dinning option they have given the cafeteria good criticism of the program.
Gonsalves said, “I think it is a great program to invest in, we have heard great comments about it, and look forward to the future of this program as well as the college.”
For more information on how to use the new Blue Storm Card for food services and many others please go to: http://maconstate.edu/bluestormcard.
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