LETTER: Food Services does not come from tuition

Dear Editor,

I wanted to take a moment to clear up some apparent misconceptions that exist among some students, faculty and staff with regards to Food Services here at Utah State University. In the article about the Quickstop expansion that occurred in Monday’s Statesman, a comment was made by a student that “there are better things [the university] can spend our money on … We pay so much money in tuition …” This statement implies that student fees and/or tuition are spent by the university on Food Services. USU Housing and Food Services is totally self-sufficient. All of our expenses, including capital expenditures, are paid for out of revenues received through the operation of our businesses. Each year, in fact, USU Food Services pays more than $250,000 back to the Taggart Student Center in the form of rent that helps support the day-to-day operation of this building as well as the activities that go on here. Any and all “profit” from operations is invested back into the business to upgrade the facilities. There are many hard-working, dedicated, talented individuals who spend a lot of extra hours making sure that we provide the best services possible to the campus community. My hat goes off to them, as they are often the unsung heroes of the university.

Alan J. AndersenAssistant DirectorHousing and Food Services