10 iMPRESSIONS The Brandeis Hoot November 4, 2011

The premium cost of eating on campusEditor’s Desk

The numbers speak for themselves: The costs of basic food items in the Usdan convenience store are nothing short of outrageous. Simply by purchasing food and convenience items on-campus, students pay far more than they do at the local Hannaford supermarket.

But that’s only the start. Many items are poor-ly marked and unit pricing is unavailable, mak-

ing price comparisons difficult.For students on meal plans, the cost of basic

items is even more steep. This discrepancy is best seen in the $1,400 per semester points plan. The plan costs $2,669, meaning that each point is equivalent to almost $2. While the meal plan pays for more than just food, including the high costs of running campus dining halls, the highly inflated costs of basic food items exacerbates the lack of parity between dollars and points.

The high cost of food at Brandeis never both-

ered me in the past. But some weeks back, I went to the convenience store to purchase a drink and a yogurt, and the price came out to nearly $5. For around $5 at Dunkin Donuts, I’d be able to get a much larger drink, a bagel with cream cheese and a donut. For $5 at Hannaford, I would at least be able to purchase two drinks and two yogurts.

Below is a sampling of items and their costs both on-campus and off-campus, as well as the percent price increase for eating on-campus. The

items have been randomly selected from those available in the C–Store.

I suspect that students will not be surprised by the sampling of food prices shown below. The same cannot be said of community members —whether parents, staff or visitors—especially those who have never shopped in our on-cam-pus convenience store.

And likely, after reading this page, they will take their business elsewhere. Unfortunately, students on meal plans just don’t have that luxury.

By Alex SchneiderEditor

$6.39for 11.5 oz.

Brandeis C-Store

$3.49for 16 oz.

Hannaford Supermarket

154%or $0.34per oz.

Price increase

$1.99Brandeis C-Store

$1.19Hannaford Supermarket

67%or $0.80per item

Price increase

$2.29Brandeis C-Store

$1.19Hannaford Supermarket

92%or $1.10per item

Price increase

$5.99Brandeis C-Store

$2.99Hannaford Supermarket

100%or $3

per item

Price increase

$6.09for 16.6 oz.

Brandeis C-Store

$2.99for 15.5 oz.

Hannaford Supermarket

90%or $0.17per oz.

Price increase

$5.49Brandeis C-Store

$3.39Hannaford Supermarket

62%or $2.10per item

Price increase

$2.09Brandeis C-Store

$0.99Hannaford Supermarket

111%or $1.10per item

Price increase

Lack of unit pricing on labels

cost per unit Unit pricing, as seen in orange above, indicates the cost of an item per unit. Unit pricing can be beneficial, especially when comparing products within and between stores and when determining whether prices have changed when a product has been downsized. Brandeis is not required to implement unit pricing due to the size of the convenience store but doing so would be more consumer friendly and transparent.

how much is that? In some areas of the Usdan convenience store (left), prices are not listed on labels attached to shelves, making choosing products based on price more difficult. In comparison, Hannaford Supermarket (right) labels all items.

Labels difficult to find

Pasta Orange Juice Envelopes

Cereal: Lucky CharmsSnacks: Oreo cookies

Dairy: Chobani yogurtCleaning supplies: Lysol

Tour guide talks