Residential Programs and Services slashes meal prices

Residential Programs and Services announced price cuts this week for certain items in residence hall dining facilities. The affected areas include the grills and delis and the Italian section at Foster- Gresham Food Court. The primary reason for these cuts is a change in food suppliers last July, said Errol Huffman, business consultant for RPS dining services. \n"We are just now beginning to see the benefits from a change in suppliers that has afforded us lower prices on some of the items we purchase," Huffman said.\nSandra Fowler, director of dining services, said no plans exist to increase costs in other areas, but "food costs can vary according to current market prices," so RPS cannot promise prices will remain the same.\nIf supplier costs for a particular item were to increase, RPS would consider other alternatives from buying different brands or possibly remove the item from sales, Huffman said.\n"We base our pricing on what is minimally required to cover the expenses for the cost of food, packaging, labor, facilities maintenance and all the other aspects of the dining services and not to provide a profit margin," Huffman said. \nThe cuts come during a year of many changes for RPS dining services. Many services were relocated to other dining halls to refocus more concepts into fewer locations. Efforts were also made to discourage an increase in the cost of meal plans for the 2001-2002 school year. \nAuthority to make decisions for dining services comes from the Meal Plan Committee, comprised of seven RHA student members and seven administrators. The MPC meets every two weeks to discuss student evaluation of services and future plans for dining services. Possible future plans include a smaller meal plan option for off-campus students, said senior Brian Holman, student chairman of the MPC.\n"We work closely with the student group to make adjustments as needed throughout the year," Fowler said.\nThe student reaction has generally been a positive one. \n"We pay a lot of money to attend IU, so it's nice that we are compensated for everyday necessities like food," freshman Ashley Alfers said.