Meal plans aren’t just for freshmen anymore. Rolling out in the spring semester of 2014, the University Culinary Services will be implementing brand new meal plans geared toward not only freshmen, but second-year students as well as faculty, staff and commuting students.

The Sonoma State online meal plan page announced, “For the first time ever, University Culinary Services is offering a multitude of Meal Plan options! Student, staff, or faculty, you are sure to find one that fits your needs!” 

 Despite all the changes brought about by the addition of the Student Center, as well as revisions to the meal plans, first time freshmen are still required to sign up for a meal plan. The required meal plan for freshmen is called the Unlimited Meal Plan, and it is the most inclusive plan and gives students access to The Kitchens Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m., as well as Saturday through Sunday from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m. This plan is the most expensive at $2,140, but is included in freshmen housing costs.

According to the online meal plans page, “All first year college students living on-campus are required to participate in the Unlimited Meal Plan, which is included in the Housing License Agreement price. There are no exceptions to this provision.” 

The second option is said to be geared more toward second year students, and is called The Week Day Unlimited. This option is very similar to the unlimited plan for freshmen, but does not include access to The Kitchens on Saturdays and Sundays. This plan is significantly cheaper than the unlimited plan at $1,550.

“I’m actually thinking about getting a meal plan for next semester. $1,550 for a weekly unlimited plan is quite a lot of money but its not much more than I have spent this semester on food,” said Matt Hopwood, a second-year student at Sonoma State. 

The third plan was designed for faculty and staff and is called the Endless Lunch. It includes unlimited access to The Kitchens Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

This is a designed plan for students as well as faculty members who only are on campus during the middle of the day and want a good lunch. This limited time for meals does have a trade off for being one of the cheaper plans at $710.

The Daily is the fourth plan, and it is a bit more expensive than Endless Lunch by $40. This plan allows for one visit to The Kitchens per day Monday through Friday. 

This plan is similar to the Endless Lunch plan but allows one to enjoy a meal at The Kitchens anytime during the hours of operation between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. 

The last two meal plans are called The Block 10 and Block 30. For $100 or $285 these are by far the cheapest of all of the meal plans, and allow the individual to select a set number of meals for the semester, which do not roll over into the next semester. 

However, there is the trade off of only 10 or 30 meals allotted to one over the course of the semester instead of an endless amount or an amount that resets during the course of a week.

“It’s in the students’ best interest to come in when the meal plan starts, on Jan. 9 so that they can maximize their resources,” said Marketing Coordinator of Entrepreneurial Activities Casey Kelly.