Mar 2026
Policy
Meal plan priced raised to $6,960 / year
Penn Board of Trustees approves the increase for 2026–27, up from $6,744.
SourceA petition to end Bon Appétit at Penn
Thirteen years of health violations. A $6,960 meal plan. A contractor that has laid off Penn workers and been found with a dead mouse in canned-food storage as recently as January 2026. It is time to insource Penn Dining; the way every top-ranked Ivy peer already has.
Across Penn Dining in a single 2023 inspection cycle.
From 2013 through Feb 2026, including repeat violations.
Up from $6,744. Required for all first-years.
December 2022 Class of 2025 GroupMe poll (n=82).
When BAMCO tried to lay off 140 Penn workers without pay.
Documented regulatory settlements since 2000.
We've normalized the abnormal, accepting substandard conditions that would shutter any regular restaurant in Philadelphia.
Penn Board of Trustees approves the increase for 2026–27, up from $6,744.
SourceCooked eggs held overnight at improper temperature were discarded by the inspector. Improperly stored sauces, an uncovered container of cooked pork, and a missing refrigerator thermometer at Penn Pi.
SourceFound on a sticky trap in the canned food storage room. Cited explicitly as a repeat violation, contradicting Penn Dining's 2023 assurance of no repeat uncorrected findings.
SourceColumnist Elo Esalomi documents both on the same day.
SourceCockroach at 1920 Commons (Jan 14), piece of glass in pasta at Penn Pi (Jan 18), maggot on broccoli at 1920 Commons (Jan 23).
SourceSecond non-compliance finding within the same year for new and repeated violations.
SourcePeer comparison
Johns Hopkins, Kent State, Oberlin, and the University of Rochester have already terminated their contracts. Penn pays 20–40% more per year than UMass Amherst, the #1 for nine consecutive years.
| School | Model | Unlimited plan / yr | PR Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Penn Bon Appétit (Compass Group) | Outsourced | $6,960 | — | No Princeton Review ranking. No public contract rebid since 2009. |
UMass Amherst | Self-operated | $8,472 | #1 | #1 for 9 consecutive years (2018–2026). |
Yale | Self-operated | $9,100 | #24 | Self-operated residential dining. |
Princeton | Self-operated | $4,500 | #23 | Self-operated; roughly $4,500/yr unlimited. |
Cornell | Self-operated | $7,328 | #9 | 23,000 meals/day across 30+ eateries. |
Johns Hopkins | Self-operated | — | — | Ended BAMCO in 2022. Rehired all hourly workers. Starting wage $19.88/hr. |
Washington U. Sodexo (post-BAMCO) | Outsourced | — | #8 | BAMCO walked away after workers unionized with UFCW Local 655. |
Harvard | Self-operated | — | — | Self-operated. |
Princeton Review rankings from the 2026 Best Campus Food list. Plan costs reflect publicly listed unlimited plans; some peers do not list single-tier unlimited equivalents.
Everything is elevating but us.
Act now
Every signature increases pressure. The 2020 worker petition gathered 8,322 signatures and forced Penn to reverse course in days. This is a bigger ask; and we need a bigger number.