Edited by Sreya Sayeed
You sit at the Robarts Library to study. Hours go by. You need a drink and maybe a small bite. Nearest option—Starbucks. Your bill is as much as lunch costed you. Sure, you could get something from the vending machine but most of the snacks there are unhealthy and not so filling.
On a regular day, students often get lunch, drinks and snacks from the library. The university affiliates these brands and instead of subsidizing the prices to suit student budgets maintains the original prices which are unreasonably high. For example, the sushi bowls sold at Robarts cost about $14 with taxes even though they are very simple meals all made in bulk and on the other hand the pasta is sold for $10 approximately making students chose everyday between a cheaper lunch or a healthier one. Many of the students even end up eating pasta often for the same reason. While others, with less time on their hands, give way and buy whatever is available as they just want to focus on studies.
When eating in dining halls, the same issue of unreasonable pricing persists. On top of the high prices, students with meal plans are forced to use all their money as only a small portion of funds is transferable to their T-cards. As a result, all students staying on campus end up paying for more food than they need, at the same time paying quite high prices for very basic bulk made meals.
The question is—what can the university do?
First of all, with the huge amounts of revenue UofT makes, they can easily provide free snacks or snacks at minimal costs for students at least 2 times a week if not every day in the major libraries.
Further, prices of food in the library and campus dining hall should be subsidized considering the food is made more or less in bulk and since there are a large number of students buying from these dining spaces each day, they can still make a decent amount of money. Instead of affiliating with expensive brands, the university should either set up their own dining service or subsidize the prices of items. Since only UofT students are allowed entry into the libraries it would benefit inhouse students directly. Students with meal plans should be allowed to transfer all of their remaining funds to their T-card or get compensation as they should not be asked to pay more than their diet requires.
Specially for international students, university dining options are availed almost daily and with the hefty amount of tuition they already pay, the least they can expect is subsidized pricing on meals.
With already so much debt from student loans for paying tuition, the last thing students need is to become broke just by eating 3 meals a day.