The Depot raises prices to match the current economy

by Alina Ferguson

As many students have noticed, the Depot, Cal Poly Humboldt’s eatery, has undergone quite a few changes, one of the most notable being the price hikes.

This semester, the prices seem to have become steeper than normal. For example, at the time of publishing, a deluxe meat burrito from Hey Juan is $13.50. The “deluxe” aspect is that there is guacamole and sour cream in it, as opposed to the regular burrito. 

Depot Supervisor Matt Ritcher said that prices always go up to reflect the current market. He said most of the time, the prices are only raised about 40 cents in the Depot. However, some vendors such as Obento and Hey Juan have their own discretion on how high they can raise their prices. Currently, Hey Juan has raised their prices for burritos by $2. 

“We try to do a 40% mark up of what we get to make a profit on,” Ritcher said. 

The vendors are contracted out through the Compass brand. A lot of the places know they are the only ones that the school can get their products from, and will raise the prices. To maintain a relationship with these companies and brands, the school will continue to buy from them, but then they must raise the price for students as well so they do not incur a loss. 

Not all products are subject to price raise. For some, the school sells the product at the price they purchased it at. They take into account that there are students who do not want to break the bank.

“If we can keep people happy and coming through the door, and possibly make a little bit of money,” said Ritcher in regards to not always selling at an inflated price, sometimes to the chagrin of the Compass brand. 

Phoebe Hughes, a senior at Cal Poly Humboldt, says she now brings lunch from home due to the price raises at the Depot. She says that she once spent $10 on a burger. 

“Yo, that’s bullshit,” Hughes said.

Another student, junior Katie Hennsey, said they no longer can afford the Depot, despite working three part time jobs. Sometimes they bring lunch from home, or wait to eat until they are done with the day. Sometimes, Hennsey does not leave campus until 8 pm. 

Hennsey wishes the dining options at the Depot would introduce deals. 

“And it doesn’t even need to be that great of a deal, it could just be 10% off on Thursdays or something,” Hennsey said.