The rising costs of meal plans are causing RIT students to struggle more than ever to access affordable food. At the end of the spring semester, RIT Dining announced that they would be increasing the prices  of all meal plans .

While this might not seem like much, all first-year students living on-campus are required to have a meal plan. The cheapest meal option a first-year student can choose is the Roar plan, which increased from $3,525 to $3,640. Any upperclassmen who continue to live in the dorms are also required to pay the extra amount for a meal plan. Those who live in other upperclass housing are not required to have a meal plan, but they are offered more options. The cheapest one is Stripes, which increased from $850 to $1000.

Additionally, from the fall 2026 semester onward, students will not be allowed to roll over dining dollars between semesters. This is a big change from the old system, which allowed students to carry over a maximum of $1000 in dining dollars into the new school year.

Many students across campus expressed displeasure with this decision, citing an increased financial burden that makes it difficult to obtain affordable food.

J. Rivera, a second-year Software Engineering major, described her concern with the price increase. As an NTID student, Rivera is required to live in the dorms and have a meal plan for her first two years.

“To have students like myself required to have meal [plans] is one thing but raising the prices of them for the same quality is not fair, especially after raising the cost of tuition,” Rivera said.

Other students choose to move out of RIT housing so they can save money and make their own meals.

Michael Cooper, a second-year Furniture Design student, expressed exasperation with price increases and the overall dining experience.

“This was part of why I chose to live off campus. The frustration of the extremely long lines in understaffed restaurants, the lack of quality control, and in all honesty… the frozen goods that are being served. The meal plan alone wasn’t worth staying in most of RIT’s housing,” said Cooper.

While living off campus or even in upperclassmen housing can provide students with a kitchen to cook their own meals, grocery stores are often hard to access for those who don’t have a car. RIT offers shuttles to Wegmans, Walmart and Target, but the amount of groceries is often limited to what the student can comfortably carry.

As RIT Dining continues to increase in price, more students will struggle with obtaining food. For anyone who needs help there are many resources available on campus and in the Rochester area.

Resources: 

FoodShare: 

RIT is home to its own food bank known as FoodShare. Its goal is to reduce food waste and provide students with food. Located by the Riverknoll apartments, FoodShare not only has food but also clothing and hygiene products. Students may grab up to five free food items a day and will need their ID to checkout.

If a student has extra dining dollars at the end of a semester, FoodShares encourages students to buy nonperishables and donate them to the food bank.

Foodlink: 

Foodlink is a supplier to over 350 pantries spread across 10 counties in New York. They supply food to the pantries in Rochester.

On their website they have a feature called “find food” where people can find markets and food banks closest to them.

They also have a mobile market that comes around to more than 60 stops and has fresh produce individuals can purchase.

Additionally, on their website they have staff that can assist students with applying to certain benefits such as SNAP.

211: 

Calling this number will give free 24/7 access to vital health and human services that include food.