Dartmouth Dining will increase the value of meal equivalences, introduce new menus and increase the number of dining dollars for each meal plan, according to senior vice president of campus operations Josh Keniston. The timeline for implementation remains unclear.
The planned changes follow months of controversy regarding potential Dartmouth Dining modifications. At a Dartmouth Student Government meeting on April 7, Dartmouth Dining director Jon Plodzik proposed requiring all non-senior students to be put on one of three modified versions of the Ivy Unlimited plan.
Student Government pushed back on this proposition in an April 13 email to campus, arguing that the proposed plan limited students’ freedom of choice and did not adequately address institutional issues — such as food insecurity and the prevalence of eating disorders — at Dartmouth. The Dartmouth editorial board also argued against the proposal. Keniston later said Dartmouth Dining would not move forward with a mandated Ivy Unlimited plan and would instead seek alternate approaches. He added that Dartmouth Dining is currently in the process of hammering out specific details for their smaller meal plan changes, such as exact meal equivalency values.
Keniston did not provide specifics into the plan but said the College may announce changes in the “next couple weeks.” The upcoming changes, which will increase the amount of food students can buy on their meal plan, will address consistent “pain points” of students, Keniston said.
Keniston did not elaborate on specific “pain points,” but students pointed to ongoing frustrations with College dining options. Anthony Fosu ’24, the senior class vice president for the 2023-2024 academic year, said that DSG consistently advocated for students facing food insecurity as a result of poorly-designed dining plans.
June Kim ’26 said she opted not to have a meal plan because the swipes and meal equivalencies have little value.
“Meal equivalencies are so poor that I choose to use the off-campus plan, even though I don’t cook,” Kim said. “Even though I eat at [the Class of 1953 Commons] from time to time, it’s more worth my money to buy my way in than to purchase a meal plan that has swipes.”
Isaiah Bradner ’26, who is on the 115 Block Plus meal plan, said it is difficult to eat healthy food on a dining plan.
“Dartmouth does not make eating healthy easy, which frustrates me,” he said. “Fruit is six to seven dollars a cup, and the fruit in [the Class of 1953 Commons] is rarely fresh. It seems like they’re using the lack of fruit on campus to make the prices go up, and I don’t understand why they do that … I just wish it was a little easier to eat healthy.”
While Kim is not currently on a meal plan, she said certain changes to Dartmouth Dining might warm her up to the idea of being on a meal plan.
“Lower overall price of meal plans and higher meal equivalencies would probably incentivize me to get a meal plan,” Kim said.
Keniston said the College remains dedicated to its goal of thoughtfully engaging with student voices and crafting comprehensive plans to satisfy student needs.
“Dining is a really important part of the student experience, and so we’re constantly looking at what are the enhancements and changes that we can make to make an overall better experience and make sure that we’re meeting everyone’s needs,” he said.
According to DSG mental health committee co-chair JJ Dega ’26, many students are actively involved in the process of improving dining on campus. Dega, along with Fosu, served as a student representative in a task force established by the College aimed at addressing issues of food insecurity.
“The food insecurity task force was under Dean [of the College Scott] Brown and that brought together campus leaders,” Dega said. “[DSG is] very open to the feedback we collect from students.”
