Ahead of the 2024-2025 school year, Ole Miss Dining announced changes intended to make food and meals more accessible for students on campus.
An Instagram post on July 24 announced that food trucks are accepting meal swipes, with one swipe as an $8.50 cash equivalent toward food items.
The idea of food trucks accepting meal swipes has been under consideration for several years.
“(Concerns) included logistical issues such as setting up infrastructure for a uniform payment system compatibility and ensuring the food trucks could meet the standards required for participation in our dining program,” Amy Anderson, marketing manager for Ole Miss Dining Services, said.
Since partnering with Grubhub in January, Ole Miss Dining sought to further integrate the company’s software in order to improve the overall dining experience for all students.
“With Grubhub’s technology, we can now accurately track and process meal swipes, making it feasible for food trucks to be included in the meal plan system,” Anderson said.
Students expect the change to make dining on campus more convenient.
“My friends and I always used to complain about running out of flex while having so many unused meal swipes,” junior southern studies major Kamryn Reed said. “My little sister is starting here this year, and I think living on campus with more dining options that accept meal swipes will make her transition to college life smoother.”
Reed’s younger sister, Kristian, an incoming freshman allied health studies major, Thinks this new payment option will increase the appeal of food trucks.
“Now that the food trucks will be accepting meal swipes, I find it more convenient for me to stop by them rather than the union,” Kristian Reed said. “I’ve heard the union can sometimes be unreliable, as they do get busy, so I think skipping the rush and going to eat at the food trucks will be a better outcome.”
Caitlin Magnuson, owner of Magnolia Coffee Co.’s Copper Top, will have a food truck next to Ventress Hall.
“We are ecstatic about the meal swipes being accepted,” Magnuson said. “I think that any time you make meals more accessible it’s a win for everyone involved.”
She has edited her menu in response to meal swipes becoming a new form of payment.
“We have tweaked our menu a few times to try and have it make the most sense for the students in correlation to their meal swipes,” Magnuson said. “Simple items like a latte or lotus will be one swipe, where a meal plus a drink will amount to two.”
The addition of meal swipes is also attracting students who typically would not have eaten at the food trucks.
Georgia Skelton, a freshman general studies major and Ole Miss soccer player, said she may be more inclined to try on-campus food trucks.
“Even though I will mostly be eating at The Grill and with my team, I definitely want to try the food trucks, especially because they are taking meal swipes,” Skelton said.
Another dining change includes Chick-fil-A and McAlister’s switching locations inside the Ole Miss Student Union. Chick-fil-A will now be on the second floor of the student union, and McAlister’s will assume its position next to Panda Express on the first floor.
“We saw this as an opportunity to address student feedback regarding menu limitations stemming from (the UM Chick-fil-A) being a non-traditional restaurant,” Resident District Manager for Ole Miss Dining Chip Burr said. “Swapping the concept locations provides us with the space and capacity to expand the menu and add more of Chick-fil-A’s core favorites.”
Mareleigh Rayner, a first-year law student, said the change will eliminate the classic McAlister’s experience and increase wait times.
“It’s getting rid of the McAlister’s feel because when you think of McAlister’s, you think of a place to go sit down, and it also gives a quiet escape, compared to downstairs, which is always busy,” Rayner said. “Ultimately, I think it’s a bad decision, because the wait times are going to be even longer downstairs, and I think people will see that impact. “
Maddie Cobb, a sophomore pharmacy major, supports the location switch.
“I think moving Chick-fil-A to where McAlister’s was is a great idea,” Cobb said. “It will alleviate a lot of traffic from downstairs, which will make the union much easier to navigate.”
Kamryn Reed agreed.
“I often avoided the union (Chick-fil-A) location last year because it was always overcrowded and opted for the Jackson Avenue location instead,” Kamryn Reed said. “With Chick-fil-A moving, it should alleviate the crowding issue, making it more accessible. As for McAlister’s, while it’s not as popular as Chick-fil-A, I think the move downstairs could actually help it gain more exposure and potentially do even better.”
Other plans are being discussed within the Ole Miss Dining Services to expand options and accommodate the larger incoming classes.
“We have had extensive discussions about how to best accommodate and support this influx of students. In the dining program specifically, we are taking proactive steps to manage the increased demand,” Anderson said. “This includes expanding dining hours, increasing seating capacity in our dining halls, adding additional stations in the Rebel Market, increased staffing and adding more food options to reduce wait times and enhance the overall dining experience.”
