10 iMPRESSIONS
The Brandeis Hoot
Editor’s Desk
The premium cost of eating on campus
By Alex Schneider Editor
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 oncampus, students pay far more than they do at the local Hannaford supermarket. But that’s only the start. Many items are poorly marked and unit pricing is unavailable, mak-
Brandeis C-Store
November 4, 2011
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-campus 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.
Dairy: Chobani yogurt
Cleaning supplies: Lysol
Brandeis C-Store
$5.99
$1.99
Hannaford Supermarket
Hannaford Supermarket
Price increase
Price increase
$2.99
$1.19
100%
67%
or $3 per item
Brandeis C-Store
or $0.80 per item
Cereal: Lucky Charms
Snacks: Oreo cookies
Brandeis C-Store
$6.09
$6.39
for 16.6 oz.
for 11.5 oz.
Hannaford Supermarket
Hannaford Supermarket
for 15.5 oz.
for 16 oz.
$2.99
$3.49
Price increase
Price increase
90%
154%
or $0.17 per oz.
Pasta
or $0.34 per oz.
Orange Juice
Envelopes
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.
Brandeis C-Store
Brandeis C-Store
Brandeis C-Store
Hannaford Supermarket
Hannaford Supermarket
Hannaford Supermarket
Price increase
Price increase
Price increase
$2.29
$1.19
92%
or $1.10 per item
$5.49
$3.39
62%
or $2.10 per item
Labels difficult to find
$2.09
$0.99
111% or $1.10 per item
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.