Ever felt like you were missing out with your meal plan? Now that the semester is coming to an end, you’ve been forced to get creative with your meal swipes. And we all know that Tuffy’s chicken tenders and fries just aren’t quite as satisfying after eating them for three months straight. Here are some dining hall hacks that are sure to add a little spice to NC State Dining’s standard meal options. I gathered some ideas and stories from students on how they get the most out of their meal plans.
Operation Tot
The Club Cross Country Team has a unique strategy to help the members get the most out of their meals. The team’s coach*, Josh Rees-Jones, a junior studying computer science, shared how they collectively pool their resources before and after a meal period switches over. In a mission called Operation Tot, the team members all utilize their meal swipes to load up on food like chips and salsa from Los Lobos, cookies from Port City Java, and most importantly, tater tots.
“There are meal periods like dinner and late night, dinner ends at 9 and late night starts at 9,” Rees-Jones said. “We thought we could go to Talley and get a bunch of tater tots at 8:55 and then a bunch more tater tots at 9:05.”
A fellow cross country club team member Mitch Rees-Jones, a junior studying computer science and Josh’s twin brother, explained how they would get up to 10 team members to participate in Operation Tot and shared in the collective spoils. At the end of the night, each participant would walk away with three orders of tater tots per meal swipe.
Pack-and-Go Picnic
As the North Carolina weather gets warmer and hopefully more predictable, you may want to enjoy a nice meal outside. Team up with a few friends and all get a to-go meal from your favorite dining hall. Have one friend stack up with fruit, another with some slices of bread and deli meats from the salad bar and fill the rest of the green plastic boxes with a variety of sides. Now you all have a communal picnic that you can enjoy in the nearest patch of grass in the sun. Picnic blanket not included.
Go over, not under
When ordering your next meal, make sure you pay attention to the maximum amount of money you can spend for each meal swipe because it changes throughout the day. If you are buying something small like a snack or a coffee, consider paying it in dining dollars and save your meal swipe for a larger meal. Former NC State Dining employee Alex Mitchell, a junior studying meteorology, saw this happen frequently, which meant students were leaving money on the table.
“As someone who worked at Port City Java, one of the things I noticed was that students really like to waste their money,” Mitchell said. “I would actually encourage them at times to spend more to get their meal equivalency, and half the time they wouldn’t realize they weren’t spending the right amount.”
If you don’t spend the amount allocated for each meal period, then you essentially lose that money. Instead, consider buying an extra item like a bag of chips that you can save for later. Even if you go over the meal equivalency, you can use your extra dining dollars to ensure that you’re not losing money in the long run. Mitchell admitted that he wasted over $400 in a semester — even though he worked for dining — because he was underspending at retail locations.
Check out those sides
The sides at dining locations in Talley Student Union and the Oval are a hidden gem. These options are usually more reasonably priced and healthier for you. This option is great, especially if you’re a vegetarian who can’t order most of the meat-based main dishes. Don’t be afraid to grab a cup of fruit, some chips or a side of the hearty pot-stickers in the One Earth Asian section. Just as a heads up, you can also get guacamole, queso, salsa, a double serving of chips and a soda from Los Lobos under one meal swipe.
* Editor’s note: this article originally misstated Josh Rees-Jones’ position of leadership for the Club Cross Country Team.
