In a hostel, the number of students decreased by 15% and the price of food increased by 20% over the previous year. If each student consumes the same amount of food then By how much should the consumption of food be cut short by every student, so that the total cost of the food remains the same as that of the previous year?
Choose the correct choice from the following answers:  A) 19 %  B) 15 %  C) 25 %  D) 40 %  E) 1.96 %

Rationale: "cost of food ( c ) = food consumed per student ( f ) * number of students ( n ) * price of food ( p ) originally , c = fnp when number of students decrease by 15 % , and the price of food increases by 20 % , c = f ( new ) * ( 0.85 n ) * ( 1.2 p ) = > f ( new ) = f / ( 0.85 * 1.2 ) = > f ( new ) = 0.9804 f therefore the new cost of food must be 98.04 % of the old cost , or the cost of food must decrease by 1.96 % ( option e )"
Answer: E