Bon Appetit restricts meal plan gift card purchases

After the announcement of a policy change Jan. 20, students will no longer be able to save their extra meal plan money at the end of the quarter.

Students received an e-mail from Buzz Hofford announcing they would no longer be able to purchase gift cards with their meal plans.

"I've gotten around 50 e-mails from some prettyupset students," said Hofford, food service director for Bon Appétit.

Over the past few years, students have purchased Bon Appétit gift cards with their meal plans in order to carry over their excess money from quarter to quarter and year to year.

Bon Appétit began selling gift cards five years ago to give students from a nearby English as a second language school the ability to eat on campus, since many of their classes would take place at Seattle University.

"The cards weren't intended for SU students really, but eventually someone found out about them and asked if it was okay to purchase one with their meal plan," Hofford said, who gave the go ahead to those first students.

The first few years, gift cards had minimal effect on Bon Appétit and slipped under the radar. As time passed and word spread that the gift card option was available as a means to circumvent the year-end and quarter-end carry over policies, more and more students began taking advantage of it.

"It actually began to negatively affect our business model, which is when we realized we'd done something wrong," Hofford said.

By allowing students to purchase gift cards, Bon Appétit was actually breaking contract with the school, which stipulated that excess meal plan funds over $100 would go to the Seattle U's General University Fund, which is used for anything from doing repairs on campus to funding scholarships. Without that revenue coming from student's excess money—which was a built in as part of the business plan—the whole model began to take a serious hit.

Having students forfeit excess money at the end of the year is common practice at many universities including Gonzaga, University of Washington, Western, Seattle Pacific University and Washington State University. Schools may differ in how they allow students to rollover account money from quarter to quarter, but none offer an option similar to what the gift cards provided.

Hofford said the amount Seattle U requires students to pay for a basic meal plan when living on campus is much smaller than most universities. Seattle U has the ninth cheapest required meal plan out of 10 peer institutions including the University of Portland, the University of San Francisco and Gonzaga, according to research conducted by Hofford.

However, students still raised some concerns. Osbaldo Hernandez, sophomore business and public administration major, began a Facebook group in opposition to the new policy after hearing other students complain about the announcement.

"I thought it was unfair of them to announce this two weeks after the deadline to change meal plans," Hernandez said.

This was one of the concerns Hofford received that he said was very valid.

Students who purchased larger meal plans under the assumption that they could carry funds into next quarter felt shut out by the new policy. Students told Hofford they would have purchased smaller meal plans had they known the gift card option would be discontinued.

In a compromise with Housing, Hofford was able to extend the deadline for meal plan changes past the previous deadline to accommodate the effects of this new policy. Students who purchased larger meal plans under the misconception that they would be allowed to use the gift cards are being asked to contact Housing to change their plans as soon as possible.

Jeremiah Beckwith, retail manager of The Cave, is actually hopeful now that the new plan has been set in place. While students can use excess points in shopping sprees, or to plan a catering event, he is hoping more students will donate them to the food drive.
"It's so easy, and it really helps," said Beckwith, who is involved with Anonymous Acts of Kindness (or, A-Ok), one of the main groups that benefits from the money students donate.

Every Sunday, Beckwith heads down 6th Avenue and Columbia Street and serves free hot dogs, which he cooks himself, to the homeless.

"Sometimes I cook 400 hotdogs in an hour," Beckwith said. "I love doing it."

With the money students donate at the end of each quarter, Beckwith can typically purchase enough hot dogs to feed the homeless for two months.

"You don't really understand the power of a hot dog until you give it to someone who really needs it," Beckwith said, "I hope more kids will start supporting that."

Kelton may be reached at ksears@su-spectator.com.