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The Rotunda
Friday, July 25, 2025

Students now able to use meal swipes in new locations

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GRAPHIC: New meal exchange option

After receiving student feedback in the past school year, students will now be able to use their Dorrill Dining Hall meal swipes at Lancer Cafe’s Greens to Go and the P.O.D. Market. This is called Meal Exchange.

Under the program, there are three options at both locations, according to Grant Avent, the general manager for dining services.

Greens to Go offers a small chicken or tofu caesar salad, a small chicken or tofu southwest salad and a small buffalo chicken or tofu salad. All options include the option of a drink.

The P.O.D. offers a three piece chicken tender and small fry, a veggie or cheeseburger and small fry and a six inch turkey sub and small fry. All options include the option of a drink.

“What we wanted to do and (what) the students had for a very long time wanted to be able to use their meal swaps from the dining hall on other things,” Avent explained. “The students have still been saying let me use my swipes somewhere else and I will say we haven’t done that up until this point because there has to be limits.”

The decision was also influenced by the decline of business in the Lancer Cafe, according to Avent.

“Several things went into this.” said Avent. “One, the traffic in the (Lancer) Cafe kinda went away when they took the post office out of there.”

According to Avent, business was helped by Greens to Go replacing Bene Pizza last year, saying that they do “four times as much business.”

He commented on how it would help maintain the Lancer Cafe until the Upchurch University Center opens in Fall 2018.

“We’ve got another year until the new university center opens, so we want to keep that going,” said Avent.

Options were added at the P.O.D. Market in consideration of Lancer Park students.

“We also thought we got this great location at Lancer Park, let’s do something for them," Avent stated. The program does, however, have limitations, according to Avent.

“We have to try and do it at the same product cost as we do for the dining hall. It’s a swipe, it isn’t a dollar for dollar retail operation, so we limit what the student can get,” Avent explained.

According to Avent, Dr. Tim Pierson, vice president of student affairs, and Ken Copeland, vice president of administration and finance, were involved in the decision.

Additionally, the student dining committee was consulted and the bi-annual surveys of the general student body were analyzed.

The future of the meal exchange program is not entirely decided yet, according to Avent.

“At the end of this year…We’ll look at it, take the feedback that we and we’ll see what changes we can make,” Avent noted.

Avent also explained that the P.O.D. Market most would likely continue to have the program, but Greens to Go does not have a planned space for next year. The planning and restaurant selection for the new Upchurch University Center was finalized well before the introduction of Greens to Go in the Student Union last year.

“There’s not a plan to transfer Greens to Go (to the Upchurch University Center) at this time.” Avent explained. “With that said, with the popularity of Greens to Go, we would love to find a space for it to keep it going,”

Madison Mosca, a liberal studies freshman suggested more options.

“I think the meal swipes are good, but you should be able to use them at Einsteins and for sushi and stuff like that,” Mosca commented.

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