Georgia State commuter students now have the option to sign up for PantherMeals Commuter Meal Plan, which they will be accessible in spring 2016.
Georgia State’s legal department approved the meal plans on Nov. 11, according to the Director of Marketing and Administration Support for Auxiliary and Support Services Chris Connelly.
The commuter meal plans may be used at the Courtyard in Student Center East, the Panthers Club in Student Center West, Panther Pizza in the University Bookstore Building and Panthers Corner Café in Kell Hall, according to the PantherMeals Commuter Meal Plan press release.
The plan will have three declining balance meal plan, which is a system that functions like a debit card. The plan includes $100, $200 and $300 commuter meal plans.Connelly said it will not be a partial meal plan and it never attended to be.
The total amount of “PantherPoints” is deducted from the balance on your Panther Card with one “PantherPoint” equaling one dollar. Also the commuter meal plans offer savings up to 18 percent, according to the press release.
Student Government Association’s (SGA) Vice President of Student Service Fortune Onwuzuruike said he’s been pushing for this commuter meal plan.
“I do represent the interest of students…commuter students weren’t really getting accounted for now they are,” he said.
Onwuzuruike said he has been working on the plan since the summer, and he advocated for the plan, because students overall wanted these meal plans.
“I feel like this is something that a university of this size and this prestigious needed… I think it attracts more people,” he said.
Connelly said PantherDining is bringing this new dining option, because large number of students commute to campus.
“PantherDining Services wanted to provide a meal plan that met the needs of student commuters on campus that gave access to our retail food areas that were centrally located on campus,” he said.
Georgia State commuter student Jennifer Hernandez said the PantherMeals Commuter Meal Plan is a good idea for someone who does not like to bring lunch from home.
“I believe it’s a good idea for someone that does not like to carry their food, and for those students who stay on campus all day,” she said.
Students residing in University Housing are not eligible to sign up for the commuter meal plan, because the commuter meal plan is targeted for commuter students, according to Connelly. Instead, he said students living on campus should eat at the dining hall.
“We [Georgia State] are growing what the meal plan would look like in the future is hard to say,” Connelly said.
Georgia State’s SGA and Auxiliary and Support Services are both working to promote the new commuter meal plans, according to Connelly and Onwuzuruike.
Connelly said he wants the PantherMeals Commuter Meal Plan to be successful and for it to offer more options in the future.
