UCA has plenty of convenient and accessible food options for students with meal plans, but with these products comes a jump in price. 

Students travel from all over the country and internationally to attend UCA, but one thing that every student has in common is food.

Madeline Bartley works at both the Bear Village C-Store and the Ronnie Williams Student Center C-Store, also known as the Pod. She says she sees around 60-70 people enter the Bear Village C-Store daily.

“We sell mainly a lot of energy drinks like Red Bull and Rock Stars, and also Pepsi. We sell a lot of Chips Ahoy and Quest bars and snacks like that, too,” Bartley said.

But the convenience of the C-store comes at a cost –- literally.

The price difference between groceries in the C-Store versus the same products in a traditional grocery store can be significant; some items cost over 40% more than they do at Walmart. 

For example, a 12-pack of Kraft American cheese at the C-Store is $6.19, but a 16-pack of the same brand at Walmart is a mere $4.28 before tax — a 92% cost increase per slice.

Totino’s Pizza Rolls have a similar upcharge. At the C-Store, a box of 15 pizza rolls costs $4.79, while a box of 15 at Walmart only costs $2.36, making the C-store option 103% more expensive.

Products at the C-Store can be purchased with dining dollars, which are included in student meal plans, BearBucks or with debit and credit cards. Taxes are excluded when customers pay with dining or BearBucks.

Students living on campus must buy a meal plan. Dining dollars are stored on students’ Bear Cards, which students can use to buy food at the Ronnie Williams Student Center food court, the Christian Cafeteria, one of the two C-Stores on campus or at the various restaurants scattered around campus.

Those living in residence halls can choose a $1,969 or $2,235 plan, while campus apartment and commuter meal plans range in price from as low as $298 to $1,100.

Carla Rains, the operations specialist in the Bear Card office, said while all students who live in campus housing must choose a meal plan, special circumstances, like a doctor’s note, could exempt a student from getting one.

Rains said commuters can decide if they want a meal plan, but said “BearBucks are the cheaper option” and that Bear Card users can add money as needed.

Some students have no option but to live and shop on campus; an international student without a car might have to hitch a ride from someone or follow the UCA shuttle schedule that goes to a local grocery store once a week, weather permitting.

Other C-Store food items with increased prices compared with Walmart include bread, frozen blueberries, Cheez-Its, Lean Cuisine dinners and Red Bull. 

It’s not just food, either. Many household necessities in the C-Store also have a price increase, like Tide Pods, paper towels and liquid hand soap. 

Dining dollars expire at the end of a school year or when students graduate, whichever comes first. 

If a student runs out of dining dollars or meal swipes, the Bear Essentials food pantry on campus provides free nonperishables for students and campus community members.

The pantry regularly updates its Instagram, @bearessentialsfoodpantry, and Facebook, facebook.com/ucabearessentials, with hours and holiday closings.