On the Go

Here at Purdue, we have this thing called On the Go. Here’s how it works:

I have a meal plan, so I get 12 meal swipes a week (they have different plans with a varying number of meal swipes). On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I don’t have time to eat lunch in the dining halls so I have to get On the Go lunches. When you get an On the Go lunch, you get one entree and four sides. Sounds fair right? Well it’s not.

For entrees, they have things like chicken sandwiches, cheeseburgers, turkey sandwiches, salads, etc. That’s fair. But for sides, they have things like fruit roll ups, Little Debbie Treats, and single serve chip bags like Doritos and Fritos. I really don’t feel like that is worth my money considering a meal, whether it’s in a dining hall or On the Go, costs about $10 (that’s for non-students, it’s a little less with a meal plan but I can’t find how much).

Don’t get me wrong, they also have soup and stuff like yogurt for sides, but I still don’t think it’s worth it. When you look at the bags of chips, it says in the corner of the bag 35 cents a bag or 3 for $1 (see above picture). Think about that. How much would a chicken sandwich cost at a fast food place. You can get one at McDonald’s for $1. Then say for your sides you get four bags of chips. That’s $1.35. Your whole meal, with tax, would cost less than $3. Does that seem fair?

Here’s what I would like to see done with the On the Go system:

Instead of getting prepackaged food, give us styrofoam take home containers like they do in restaurants and let us walk around the dining hall and fill them up. Then I would feel like I would be getting my money’s worth (kind of, but at least I’d be getting just as much as if I sat down to eat)!

Word of the Day: giblets