Whether it be coffee with vanilla creamer, a chocolate chip granola bar, or a yogurt parfait, the Elgin Community College cafeteria has got you covered. With how busy a students schedule can be, stopping at the cafeteria for a snack can be a godsend, providing that essential quick burst of energy before a long class. As of the Spring 2017 semester, prices for certain items in the cafeteria have gone up. As students in college, a rise of price in just about anything gives more of a reason to be reluctant to spend our money, as the academic costs of being in college make quite the dent in our pockets as it is.

The Managing Director of Retail Operations at ECC, Kelly Strossner, is in charge of applying the prices for items in the cafeteria as well as acquiring and making the items in the bookstore available. Although it is her job to oversee the acquisition of these items, the determination of the actual prices is beyond her control.

According to Strossner, the decision of the prices is ultimately dependent on the cost of material and the cost of labor to move and make those materials. The vendor sells the materials and items to the school at a certain price, and the school then sells these items in accordance with that buying price.

“Our goal is to break even,” Strossner said, “Not to make a profit.”

ECC keeps the financial situation of their students in mind, but that only goes so far. The books that are made available are decided by the instructors, and the retail operations department does their best to find the correct edition for the cheapest price.

The retail operations department loves feedback from the student body and encourages them to voice their opinion on how things are being run by either talking with student life or contacting Kelly Strossner directly by e-mail at kstrossne[email protected].

There are also a few resources that aren’t completely known to students that can soften the blow of student spending. The Spartan Food Pantry is a collection of food donations given by other students that are free to any students looking for a snack to eat, located in B175.

One other possible resource that has potential to help is called Cengage Unlimited.  If an instructor decided to implement Cengage unlimited into their curriculum, their students would have access to over 19,800 eBooks, 2,300 Digital Learning Products and dozens of study tools all for a flat $119.99 for a single semester.  A few ambassadors from Cengage visited ECC last week, encouraging ECC to use this method of teaching, but the implementation of this program is a matter to be decided in the future.