University of Nebraska-Lincoln students looking for more variety in on-campus dining options are in for a treat! Starting Fall 2018, UNL will begin selling a meal plan option that will allow students to eat unlimited food at the Union food court.

“It’s time we give the students what they really want,” said UNL President Hank Bounds, in a statement regarding the new meal plan. “Every time I’m in the Union, I see several students chowing down on Valentino’s and Imperial Palace Express. Most of these students commute to class every single day and don’t want to purchase a full meal plan for our magnificent dining halls. Since it’s quite unreasonable to just have a “lunch-only” meal plan at our dining halls for commuter students, we thought it would be a great idea to give these students unlimited access to our Union food court. We hope this meal plan satisfies the needs of our students!

Jane Mellow, a junior broadcasting major at UNL who commutes to campus for class, commented on the new meal plan available to her and other commuter students. “It’s nice that UNL is finally being considerate of the commuter students on campus,” said Mellow. “I mean, my parents help pay for my lunches, but still $10 for a Subway meal is kind of ridiculous. I just hope UNL doesn’t charge a boatload of money for the meal plan. They get enough money from me as it is.”

Early details were released recently regarding the functionality of the Union food court meal plan. The base price for a simplified meal plan that would give unlimited access to only one restaurant is $10,000 per semester. From here, students can add on more restaurants, while paying slightly higher prices. The highest priced meal plan, which sits at $20,000 per semester, would give students access to Valentino’s, Imperial Palace Express, Subway, and [This restaurant is now proudly owned and operated by Chick-fil-A and Steak ‘n Shake].