As a student here at UNE, I have a lot to say about your food and overall operation. I do enjoy your waffles and ice cream, but the list ends there. The food at this school makes me never want to eat on campus, but, your employees make up for it in friendliness. The people that work at Decary and for Sodexo are incredibly welcoming and always polite. I was always happy to have my card swiped, despite the quality of the food, because everyone has a smile on their face. That happiness ended. As I was running late for a club meeting, I stopped to grab a bite to eat. I swiped in, grabbed a coffee cup, and made myself a cup of pasta. As I was leaving with the cup, an employee stopped me in front of everyone to inform me I was stealing. I tried to explain that I had not eaten and I was late for a club meeting. Yet, she refused to understand the situation and proceeded to tell me that you cannot take out extra food for later and that I have been stealing food all week. Not only was this false (outside of a cup of lettuce), but she seemed to stress that taking extra food was not allowed.

This struck me as odd because the dining hall closes at 8pm, and I know people stay up much later than that in college. Why not take some snacks? We paid for them. We have paid for them and more because most students don’t even use all their meal swipes in the given week! If anything, the meal plan system is stealing from the students! On top of all that, the food UNE students don’t eat just gets trashed any ways. What a waste. The dining hall even advocates for students to be mindful eaters due to the amount of food thrown away each day. Not only that, but for students who have classes back to back, the school should provide a system that allows them to take meals to go. Alfond Café has that option, but it is extremely limited, poor quality, and out of most people’s way. Some colleges even encourage students to take food from their dining halls because they understand how crazy schedules can become. Maybe if Decary had consistent good food and flexible hours, students wouldn’t feel the need to stock their fridges with coffee cups of shrimp pad thai and chicken parm.

In the end, the Sodexo employee allowed me to go “this one last time, but not ever again.” As I left the dining hall I turned around and yelled “Thank you! Have a nice night!” The food here isn’t home style quality, but at least we have the option to eat three meals most days. But what I really can’t live with is an adult feeling the need go after a paying student for wanting to eat outside of a crowded dining hall. It’s ridiculous that students at this school are scolded for wanting to get their money’s worth. I am paying $54,000 to go here, do not tell me I can’t take my dinner to go.