Bandeis' food and service provider, Aramark, has made an approximate three percent price increase to some selections at the Usdan Cafeteria and the Boulevard to better compete with what other local college dining facilites charge for similar items.The largest price increase applies to a plain omelet, which now costs $2.20 instead of $1.79.

"There was an increase to a variety of items," Head of University Facilities Mark Collins said. Services said. "However, it was a minimum number of items and minimal increases. While it was a price increase, it brought us to levels that were still below that of our competitor schools charged for the same items."

Collins and the University's resident district manager of Aramark Barbara Laverdiere, compiled a chart comparing last year's prices of similar foods offered at Brandeis with other local colleges.

Collins and Laverdiere agreed to disclose the chart to the Justice on the condition that other colleges remain anonymous.

"We share this information as a favor," Laverdiere said. "And it's not particularly favorable to a lot of these other schools."

Even with price increases, Leverdiere also noted that food offered at the Usdan Cafeteria and the Boulevard is still less expensive than what other colleges charge for similar items. At Brandeis, Aramark currently charges $2.99 for a grilled-chicken sandwich. Another local university's food and service provider charged $5.25 for the same item last year.

"We were charging 75 cents (for a muffin)," Laverdiere said. "For us to make it, it costs 70 cents and we were losing money on every muffin we (sold). We are so far off where other school are - everybody else is over a dollar. It used to cost me 70 cents just to make it without paying the baker."

Collins said he was careful about the price increases and wanted to ensure that people on meal plans would have enough credit to last through the semester.

"Some of these price increases you need to be very careful to accommodate the equivalency of people on meal plans," Collins said. "Breakfast used to be $3.40 and now it is $3.50. Lunch was $5.65 and now it's $5.80. There are some of these items that went up in price and are going to chew up that equivalency too."

Collins also said the amount of increased priced items is limited and will not affect people on the all-points meal plan.

"The all-points plan allows students to eat in a variety of spots. If they eat everything in Usdan, they might have a little less buying power. But I think the all-points plan student generally at this point in time is eating out of several locations. I don't think it's of any material impact necessarily."

Laverdiere said if prices did not increase, Aramark at Brandeis would fall even further behind to what other university food and service providers charge.

"The biggest reason, just like whether it's tuition or anything else in life, prices go up," Laverdiere said.

Seth Schulman-Marcus '06, is on the 14-meals-per week plan. He has noticed price increases.

"I don't mind if they charge more, but they should have better quality food," Schulman-Marcus said. "It's not that I hate the food so much. But for the price they charge ... I could get a good Italian dinner."

Not every student is questioning price increases. Tara Strauss '06 was completely unaware of the change.

"I really never paid attention to the price," Strauss said. "As long as I have enough points, I don't really care."

Laverdiere said she has heard nothing about students complaining about price increases from cashiers, who sometimes listen to what people talk about in line.

"(Cashiers) hear everything," Laverdiere said. "But not one of them has told me one thing. This makes me happy."

While the absolute rise in prices is relatively slight, the impact of this change is magnified by a mitigating factor-smaller portion sizes. Workers at the dining stations have always been required to dole out food in accordance to certain restrictions, but this year, the allotments at some stations have diminished noticeably. For example, a student eating pasta in the Boulevard now receives a portion that barely coats the bottom of the to-go containers.

Thus a value that has not been calculated - the cost per ounce of food - may have risen more than the prices themselves seem to indicate.

A previous example of this phenomena occurred last spring: Dannon yogurt changed its serving size of Light n'Lively yogurts from eight ounces to six ounces, but the C-store kept its price constant at one dollar.

While Aramark food prices have risen on campus, improvements have also been made to dining facility offerings: The Usdan cafeteria is now open until 8:00 p.m., one hour later than last year; the Usdan Java City will soon be moved to the Usdan cafeteria with longer operating hours; and the Shapiro Campus Center Java City is now open until 2:00 a.m.

"This was totally student-driven," Laverdiere said.

Laverdiere has also initiated a recycling program to reward students who use china instead of plastic to-go containers. When a student uses real china and purchases food at the register, the cashier punches a special card. After 10 punches, the student received a free drink and a slice of pizza.

According to Laverdiere, the fresh fruit and ice cream display at Sherman have been enlarged and more food will be made cooked to order at the grill.

"I think the message here is that where was a group of products that we felt needed to be adjusted in terms of prices for a variety of reasons of reasons," Collins said. "In doing that, I think we were very sensitive.