Midnight breakfast meals replaced due to rising costs

Author: Livingston Burgess

During the week of finals, Dec. 8-11, dining services plans to provide snacks and drinks in the Grille as a late-night study break, Director of Dining Services Matthew Biette said recently. The new offerings, known as "Drop-in Snacks," will replace the hot meal known as "Midnight Breakfast," which had been served at dining halls in previous years. The decision was made following a reevaluation of the ability of dining services to provide meals for the remainder of the year.

"My main focus is the students," said Biette, "making sure they have food through the end of the year. It would be irresponsible to do any differently."

The bill for Midnight Breakfast in recent years has begun to run as high as $10,000 per night, paid for using left over money gleaned from dining services' budget. This year, that extra money was simply unavailable, so the decision was made to inmplement Drop-in Snacks. The new program will cost approximately one tenth as much.

This issue and others relating to dining services came up at the Nov. 9 meeting of the Student Government Association (SGA) senate, when President Bobby Joe Smith '09 presented the results of his meeting with Biette, including the absence of funds for Midnight Breakfast. Smith and others pointed out that the cost of food has risen dramatically in recent months and years, necessitating certain cuts in order to maintain the meal system currently in place.

Biette added that the move did not constitute the removal of a piece of dining services' budget.

"Midnight Breakfast was always an extra add-on," he said. "It was kind of a nicety that just worked its way into your life."

The loss is also not a reflection of the theft of dishes, which has become a major topic for dining services, SGA and independent student groups.

"Do dishes need to come back? Absolutely," said Biette, "but that's a different discussion. Midnight Breakfast is not a pawn in that discussion."

Currently, the plan for Drop-in Snacks is to provide cookies Dec. 8 and 10, as well as donuts Dec. 9 and 11 and hot drinks each night.