Despite the reported success of the 12 Free Meals Pilot Program for graduate students last year, meals have been cut back to six free swipes per semester amid a variety of University-wide budget cuts.
Graduate students not on a meal plan will now receive six free meal swipes at the Graduate College, ending a popular pilot program that offered them 12 meals a week at Procter Hall, the Graduate College dining hall, last semester. University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill said that the Graduate School had taken “budget and other factors” into consideration when making the decision.
The change comes amid University-wide budget cuts aimed at trimming all departments and offices by 5–10 percent. Graduate students received six meals per week in years prior to the pilot program.
Morrill wrote in a statement to The Daily Princetonian, “In previous years, the Graduate School and Dining Services have provided all degree-seeking graduate students who are not on a meal plan with six ‘meal swipes’ per semester at Procter Hall to encourage community building and socializing in a Graduate School space.”
“Taking budget and other factors into consideration, the Graduate School has decided to return to the original offering of six swipes for AY25-26,” Morrill wrote.
“The pilot program was an original thought project designed to mirror the Two Meals Per Week program offered to every undergraduate student regardless of their meal plan status,” wrote Amari Tankard GS, president of Graduate Student Government, in a statement to the ‘Prince.’
“This pilot of 12 meals for grad students was a resounding success and demonstrated clear motivation on the part of graduate students across departments and years to participate. Not only that, we saw a large uptick in student spouses and children gathering in the dining hall,” Tankard said. “We, on GSG, will continue to advocate for the expansion of dining programs, both in the number of allotted meals and the ability for graduate students to dine in all halls on campus.”
The 12 free meals pilot program provided opportunities for graduate students to collect in one space free of charge, which some students believe contributed to a strengthened community.
“Having those 12 meal swipes really allowed you to have some good meals with the boys," Jacob Metcalfe GS told the ‘Prince.’
Julia Chatterley GS said that Procter Hall served as a meeting place for graduate students outside her discipline.
“By limiting the meal swipes from 12 to six, you are inherently limiting the amount of interaction that students that don’t live in the old graduate college can [have],” she added.
Jordan Coty Eloundou Ndongo GS expressed economic concerns with the cuts to meal swipes. “There are some days when you feel like, ‘Oh, I don't really want to cook,’ or ‘I don’t really want to spend money to buy food.’”
“Since food is really expensive in Princeton, having those swipes is really great,” he said.
Meghana Veldhuis is a senior News writer for the ‘Prince.’ She is from Bergen County, N.J., and typically covers graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and campus unions and labor.
Ben Goldston is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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