GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Krishna Lunch, a student lunch staple at the University of Florida, raised prices by over 40% from last semester, citing concerns over the fiscal sustainability of the 53-year-old lunch program.
Courtesy of Florida Finibus Team
In a move that stunned students, staff and faculty alike, the reaction to the price hikes has been largely of confusion and frustration. The issue has dominated conversation across campus, quickly spurring increased scrutiny among the institution of Krishna Lunch.
“It’s a bit absurd, considering that their model is supposed to be free,” said Sophia Huerta, a fourth-year computer science major, when voicing her frustrations about the price increase of Krishna Lunch. Due to the price increase, she plans on only eating Krishna Lunch if she is in a time crunch.
Luke Clark, a fourth-year mathematics major, also had similar concerns about the price hikes.
“It’s been a two-fold price increase in three years,” Clark said.
Though the increase has frustrated and confused many, some students have expressed an understanding of the price hikes in the greater context of the current economic state.
Vinay Ratnam, a second-year computer engineering sophomore, understood the price increases in the greater context of rising food prices everywhere. Though irked about the increases, he was ultimately okay with the situation.
“It’s depressing, bro. I mean, inflation is happening, so I understand it,” Ratnam said. However, though some students agree that inflation is ultimately the cause of the price increases, many are skeptical that inflation has contributed to an over 40% price increase from the year prior.
“I feel like they raised prices under the guise of, ‘oh well, inflation, the prices of everything have raised,’” said Ellen Densmore, a biology senior. Emphasizing her skepticism of the price hikes, she says that “at the end of the day, this is lettuce and rice. I don’t think that it is worth $9.”
As a result of the raised prices, Krishna Lunch attendance has been down over 50% compared to last semester. Sagar Kumar, the president of Krishna House, has recognized the impact the price hikes have made and is aware of the animosity students have towards the decision.
“Food prices and costs have nearly doubled,” Kumar said, in the wake of the pandemic. “Next to this house are four shipping containers. We have had to buy more food in bulk to keep prices affordable and sustainable. We’ve been trying our best to keep prices down, but ingredients have been costing more and more.”
When looking at the finances of the operation, Kumar highlighted that there are many hidden costs of running the program. On top of purchasing ingredients, chefs and dishwashers need to be paid, and liability insurance costs need to be covered. In just the past year alone, the annual cost of insurance for the program has nearly doubled.
“When I looked at costs last year, we were in the red. With the Krishna Lunch program, we lost $27,000,” said Kumar, when further explaining the justifications for raising prices.
Though the Krishna Lunch program does receive donations, the operation does not receive enough donations to sustainably fill the amount of food required for demand. The Krishna Lunch program does receive food donations from food banks; however, this food can only be used for their Krishna Cares program, which donates free meals to individuals experiencing homelessness in the greater Gainesville area.
“It is true that we do receive food donations from local food banks. But our contract with them is that we don’t use their food for Krishna Lunch,” said Kumar, explaining the legal limitations they have with using food from food banks. “Sometimes there is this misconception that we get all of our ingredients for free, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth.”
Kumar said that they made the drastic price increase to prevent semesterly price increases as costs for running the program continue to skyrocket. Trying to strike a balance between keeping Krishna Lunch sustainable while continuing to attract students on campus has proven difficult.
Though the broad consensus among students on campus has been that they will continue to purchase Krishna Lunch, many have cited that they will simply eat it less, citing the lack of the central appeal of affordability compared to other options as the number one reason for cutting back on the campus staple.
Raiden Williams, a computer science major in his senior year, explained that he has only bought Krishna Lunch once this semester due to the price rise, forgoing Krishna Lunch for other options nearby.
“This is $8.50. I could walk to Chipotle and for the same price, get the same meal,” Williams said.
Krishna Lunch has been a staple on campus since its inception in 1971. Being a healthy option that was half the price of other lunch options near UF, students flocked to the southwest corner of Plaza of the Americas between classes to pick up an affordable, health-conscious meal. However, as food prices continue to rise and donations continue to dwindle, the Krishna Lunch program faces hard decisions about how to keep their meals an affordable alternative to Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Cava and the rest while keeping their books in the green.
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