Dining locations on WKU’s campus have changed due to construction, but there’s one thing the WKU Restaurant and Catering Group didn’t want to change this year.

Last April, the decision to not raise meal plan prices for this school year was made during contract negotiations with Aramark, Gary Meszaros, assistant vice president for Auxiliary Services, said.

“We didn’t want to cause other issues for students by raising meal plan prices,“ he said.

Residential meal plan prices range from $1,071 for 10 meals a week and 25 meal plan dollars to $1,575 for 21 meals a week and 100 meal plan dollars, according to the WKU Restaurant Catering Group website.

The benefits of purchasing a meal plan include price value, convenience, and accessibility to venues, Tim Colley, director of Dining Services, said.

Danville junior Kelly Colwell said that because she has no car, accessibility to campus dining venues are important to her.

“Trying to get to a store to buy food would be a lot harder for me,” she said.

Colwell also enjoys her meal plan because of the ability to budget her food for each week. She has a 19 meal per week plan that allows her to plan what meals and extras she will get with her meal plan.

“I really am not good at budgeting money, so I love the fact that it changes, like every week you get a new set,” she said. “Every week I have that budget of meal plans I can use for getting coffee or getting ice cream if I wanted or going to eat.”

The healthy food options students can get with their meal plans are a reason why Radcliff freshman Amber Segundo purchased a meal plan.

“Everything in my room’s not healthy,” she said.

Segundo also said that she’s been able to meet a lot of new people by eating in the on a campus dining halls.

Colley also said that students are automatically re-enrolled in the same meal plan for the spring semester, but can make changes during the first three weeks of the semester.

Students can sign up for a meal plan on TopNet or at the ID Center.