Meal Plan Hacks

​Important aspects of a college student life are of course education, sleep, organizations, and the on-campus food. What will a student do without the top café and Chick Fil-A daily?  Not to mention those delicious wings at Wingstop along with a refreshing smoothie from Tropical Smoothie Café ®.  With all the options to eat at FAMU, its easy to run out meal swipes and Flex Bucks  two months into your semester. Flex Bucks are cash equivalent dollars that are untaxed and can be used at any dining location. Flex Bucks can be carried over from fall to spring, but not from spring to fall. During my freshman year, never have I ever had access to so much food in my lifetime once I arrived on campus. As I now look back on my years in college with a meal plan, I could have smartly found a way to extend the life of my Flex Bucks and meal swipes. I would like to introduce you to Meal Plan Hacks.
My generation is surely the generation of “finesse” as Bruno Mars and Cardi B would say. So, it is only right if I provide some hacks on how to make the most of the Metz meal plan. First off, what is a hack? A hack is any trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method that increases productivity and efficiency, in whichever area necessary. With that being said, lets dive into a couple of hacks to expand the life of your meal plan.
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First hack is to simply take advantage of each establishment to eat on campus, sometimes you may not have to swipe your card. Attend events around campus where they have delicious free food, allowing you to hold onto as many Flex Bucks as possible, while also experiencing new things in college. Also take advantage of some of the places that have food that doesn’t receive heavy traffic on campus, such as the sushi bar and The Chopping Block where they make amazing salads of any sort. These places take meal swipes and Flex Bucks, so having two ways to pay for food is always a plus.
That brings me to how to manage your Flex Bucks and meal swipes. As a student, you don’t always have to use meal swipes for the top cafe, and flex for the Presidents Dining Room. Switch it up sometimes based off your desired locations. If you have more Flex than swipes, use your flex to go to the top café occasionally. However, don’t wait until the last minute to start this practice, start it as soon as possible. One thing you don’t want is to be overloaded on either meal swipes or Flex once the semester is nearing an end. Keeping nearly the same amount throughout the semester will keep your options open to every restaurant on campus.
I would like to wish everyone a great end to the semester, and a fantastic year eating on campus food. Remember, don’t just spend just to spend, be realistic and smart when it comes to your meal plan. Try everything out on campus, and correctly manage your Flex Bucks and meal swipes to be able to enjoy all food on campus throughout the entire year.

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