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News

New meal plans for faculty, staff

Plans based on meals per week with monthly payments; 
unused meals will be rolled over

by Resha Thomas
The Daily Cougar

UH has made dining a little easier for faculty and staff by offering discounts in the University's dining halls.

Under the meal plans, faculty and staff members can have breakfast, lunch and dinner on campus. 

They can choose from several meal plans ranging from five, 10 or 15 block plans depending on how many meals they want per week; the plans are paid for on a monthly basis.

"We wanted to do monthly meal plans for our faculty and staff because it was easier since we are here all year round," Emily Messa, manager of business services in the vice president for administration and finance's office, said.

The plans range in price from $29.77 to $85.25 a month. The money can be deducted from faculty and staff members' paychecks and applied to their Cougar 1Cards; then, every time the employee eats at a campus dining location, the cost of the meal is deducted from his or her 1Card debit account.

Any money faculty and staff members don't spend in a month rolls over to the next month, Messa said.

"It never expires, every month they will get an e-mail reminding them of the meals that have rolled over," she said.

If faculty and staff members want to eat at certain places on campus, including Starbucks, Subway and Wendy's locations or the Moody Towers and Oberholtzer Hall dining areas, they can use Cougar Cash on their 1Cards.

Cougar Cash may also be used at campus convenience stores, the Chili's Too opening this fall in the University Center and Papa John's pizza deliveries from the Broadway location.

Though only a few people have signed up for the meal plans, the enrollment is a positive sign, Messa said. 

And there are bonuses: To get more people to sign up, new employees will be treated to free lunches in the dining halls during weekly employee orientations.

"(The new faculty) are really excited, and it's good for morale," Messa said.

Faculty members may sign up for the meal plans now in Room 279, UC, or Room 325, McElhinney Hall. Enrollment forms may also be downloaded from www.uh.edu/busservices/files/mealplan.doc.

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