Since the start of the semester, this board has received multiple complaints about the Bite app. Some students have struggled to connect meal plans and credit cards to the app. Students who studied abroad in fall 2021 should be wary of difficulties with reactivating their accounts. If you are struggling with this, the Campus Card office can assist you. 

For other inquiries, however, the University has remained largely unhelpful. According to one student, the University urged the student to instead reach out to Sodexo with concerns in accessing their meal plan. “Dining, University Services, and the Campus Card Office have not received reported concerns from students,” director of University Services Jeff Hershberger wrote in a Jan. 24 email to the Justice. The burden should not fall on students to fix these issues — especially as classes and work resume for students and free time to make these inquiries is scarce. 

The University should have had the foresight to look into these issues before welcoming students back to campus. Since meal plans are the primary food source for many students, the University must act quickly to solve these problems.

Not only are students having trouble getting started with the Bite app, but also once the app is set up, it is often inconsistent. This is nothing new, however. It’s almost like the Bite app isn’t properly connected to the campus dining systems — there is often a disconnect between options displayed on the app and what is actually in stock as well as issues with pickup times.  The app will often say that an order is ready long before it is actually available, and conversely, if you order multiple hours ahead of time, food is often ready far before the stated pickup time. Especially with the concerns of Omicron, this is problematic because clogged lines of people waiting for food is an opportune time for outbreaks and infection. 

We recognize that the University and its staff are certainly committed to creating a safe and enjoyable environment for students to live, work, and learn. However, issues with the Bite app have been ongoing since we started using it in fall 2020, and this board hopes to see a solution soon.