Students at VSU have a positive feeling about Blazer All-Access, but some would like to know more information about their personal meal plans. 

Here at VSU, freshmen are automatically signed up for The Blazer All-Access, which allows them to have unlimited access to an all-you-can-eat buffet at the cafeteria. However, along with the All-Access meal plan, they are also given dining dollars and sometimes meal exchanges. 

Once students become upperclassmen, they are given the option of selecting a weekly meal plan of their choice including, the Blazer Weekly 8, Blazer Weekly 10, and Blazer Weekly 5, which allows students to eat at Palms the number of times that’s on their meal plan. Plus, these plans also come with meal exchanges and additional dining dollars.  

This in all fairness, this seems like a nice deal, however, do freshmen like it? 

The Palms Dining Hall has been the main dining hub for students for a while. All students can eat at Palms through their accessed meal plan or One Card. 

Many VSU students are happy with the available plans. 

“I have the Blazer All-Access Meal Plan and so far, I don’t have any complaints about it,” said freshman studio art major Annabeth Fortner. “It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet with many options, who wouldn’t want that! Also, from what I’ve seen Palms always has good food and I really enjoy it.” 

One aspect students appreciate is the swipe system. 

“With having Blazer-All-Access, I enjoy having the unlimited swipes because you can come into Palms whenever you want and not have to worry about how many swipes you have used for each week,” said freshman mass media major Noelle Lundy. 

Overall, these freshmen have nothing but positive feedback on their meal plans provided by dining services, however, they both spoke about wishing freshmen had more of a choice when picking their meal plan options. 

 “Some people may or may not want to eat at the dining hall all the time, which is OK,” Lundy said. 

Conner Dugard, a freshman secondary education major, said she would like a little clarification. 

 “I’m enjoying the buffet (style) Palms offers with my meal plan,” Dugard said. “However, the dining dollars, meal exchanges, and flex are confusing especially when you are trying to change out meals. Now again this could have been me not paying attention, though I feel like there should be more information distributed out of how each meal plan functions and what is provided along with the all-access to Palms Dining.” 

Hannah Kersker, a freshman psychology major, also wanted more information. 

“I do wish that within the dining hall itself, there was more clarification on what food is being served and the intel ingredients due to the severity of many people having allergies. Personally, I’m lactose intolerant and have celiac so there are some foods that I shouldn’t be eating, and I need to know what ingredients are within these meals.” 

Chuck Polen is the head general manager over the VSU Blazer Dining facilities. 

 “It’s my goal to ensure that every student here at Valdosta State receives proper nutrition in order to excel within his or her studies while on campus. I would like every student dining experience to be one that they can call home about, and also build lasting friendships throughout their college years,” Polen said.  

Polen’s main concern is that students aren’t always eating properly. 

“The real issue here is food insecurities which is a main growing concern across college campuses. This affects almost 39% of all college students. Students who are faced with this issue have a lower graduation rate and a lower chance of obtaining a college degree,” he said. “Due to this issue we want to ensure that when our new Blazers come into college, they are able to not only focus on their studies but also, not have to worry about where their next meal is coming from.” 

Polen clarified the meal options. 

 “With that being said, freshman have the option of the three top meal plans: Blazer All Access, Blazer All Access Plus 5 and Blazer All Access Plus 10. Once they are considered upperclassmen, they then have to select a weekly meal plan,” he said. 

Polen went into detail on many students’ concerns. 

“Most questions students have questions regarding different aspects of dining on campus and how do meal exchanges work. Meal exchanges are available with select meal plan options however, you can use them at any dining facility here on campus except for Starbucks and the Blazer Market,” he said. 

Polen also addressed the common question about taking food out of Palms. 

“To clear up any questions or concerns, we have a to-go operation that many students aren’t aware of,” he said. “You can purchase reusable containers available for $6 at the cashier stand in Palms. Once students purchase these containers, they can continue to use that container to take their food to go.” 

For more information, visit the VSU Blazer Dining website, https://valdosta.campusdish.com/.  

Written by Armone’ Gates, Spectator reporter. Photo by The Spectator.