We have to look at increases in the cost of labor, food, even fuel. If the price of fuel goes up, so does the cost of food. While many students don't realize it, Dining Services increases the cost of the meal plan annually, Pesce said. The 4 percent increase, budgeted last spring for the current school year, is a response to the rising cost of labor, he said.
Labor costs account for three-quarters of the increase.
It's expensive here for the amount of food we get. These increases are marginal, and reflect changes in market prices, Pesce said. Pesce said an increase in the price of food products used to make sandwiches was passed on to students. The smallest increase was for a plain doughnut, which costs 4 cents more this year.