Optimizing the different aspects of a meal plan is important for students paying for it. Each student with a meal plan pays for it, and many feel it is their obligation to use that plan to its full potential.

Although NC State is one of the top engineering schools in the country, unfortunately, it does not yet have an app automatically updating students on their weekly meal swipe balances, amount of guest swipes used each semester, or Dining Dollar balance. It is strange and disappointing that something so beneficial for the majority of students has not yet been implemented.

There are three primary meal plan options for students, as well as the Commuter/Apartment plan and the Block 150 meal plan. These meal plans are the access key to a plethora of dining halls, vending machines, food courts, and convenience store goods. One key aspect of meal plans are the meal credits.

Meal credits grant students access to food outside of the dining halls. This includes student favorites such as Chick-fil-A, Tuffy’s Diner, Jason’s Deli and Los Lobos. Depending on the meal plan each student purchased at the beginning of the semester, there is a set amount of meal swipes each week that the student has paid for with their meal plan.

The Weekday plan grants eight meal credits, the Everyday Plan 12 meal credits, and the Deluxe Plan 15 meal credits. The Everyday Plan is the most common choice, allowing a considerable amount of out-of-dining hall options for students looking to change things up. But how do students know the value of a meal credit and keep track of their meal credit balance?

Some students try to keep track of their meal credits in their head. Others blindly swipe, hoping that they have enough credits, and a few tally theirs up manually. For new and returning students alike, the value of a meal swipe can be confusing and hard to keep track of.

There is currently an option for students to manually input each time they use a meal credit. Unfortunately, most students are unaware of the option or unwilling to do this. Since this is on the website, students do not have easy access if they are on-the-go.   

“Having something that would help count your meal swipes would be ideal to organize how many you have left,” said Elle Lenker, a second-year studying biomedical engineering. “It would help figure out how many swipes you could use each day. It would be easier to use them all.”

The value of a meal credit depends on the time of day and the location of the vendor. Not having an easy way for students to actively manage the number of meal swipes and Dining Dollars used is irresponsible. NC State needs to advocate for students to be mindful of their meal plan. It is long overdue.

A meal plan app would be an advantageous addition to each student’s phone. Ideally, the app could have the value of a meal credit for each location and time of day, as well as the balance for weekly meal credits and Dining Dollar amount. It could even show the number of guest swipes each student has remaining for their semester.

Awareness of one’s meal plan practices mindfulness for finances after college. NC State has many apps to help students with various tasks, and a meal plan app would be a valuable addition.

Students have already paid for their set amount of meal credits. It is their right to use all of those meal credits and be aware of how many they have used. A meal plan app tracking the meal plan use for each student weekly is long overdue. It teaches students to be financially mindful and allows for the maximum use of the meal plan. It’s time to add another tool to the NC State toolkit.