Kent State University faculty and staff now have the option to purchase a meal plan similar to the student plans. The university's dining services announced this month that any interested faculty and staff can sign up for the new meal plan using payroll deduction.

According to a report from Kent Wired, the meal plans will consist of declining balance and dining hall swipes. Declining balance is available for use anywhere on campus while swipes can only be used at Kent State's on-campus dining halls.

“There was a large interest from faculty and staff to be able to purchase meal plans in order to save money on the door-rate in the all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities,” said Leah Spiker, Kent State dining services marketing, in an email to Kent Wired.

The key benefits to the employee meal plan:

• Faculty/staff declining balance dollars have no expiration date
• Employees can treat friends or guests with their declining balance dollars
• Meal Plans remove need to carry cash, as your dining access is on employee Flashcard.

The employee meal plan can be purchased in the same way that students purchase their plans. One noticeable advantage to the newly implemented employee meal plan is the ability to use meal swipes at dining halls. Previous employee offerings required faculty and staff to pay the the door rate for dining hall access, but the introduction of meal swipes is expected to save employees money in the long run.

Faculty and staff are now offered an “On The Go Plan,” a “Flash 30 Block" plan and a punch-card option that offers every fifth meal for free.

The “On The Go Plan” includes $150 in declining balance funds, and was tailored more for Kent State's regional campuses but faculty and staff from any campus are eligible. The plan also allows unused declining balance funds to roll over until the employee leaves the university. The Flash 30 Block plan includes 30 meal swipes and $250 in declining balance funds. The unused declining balance funds roll over, but swipes do not.