Student flex spending at the Storm Street Grill has shown a significant increase already this semester, according to Vince LoVan, general manager of food service at Simpson.

This heightened spending is attributed to what many people are calling the new “convenience-store” look of the Grill.

In addition to the usual fast-food meals the Grill provides, students can now choose from approximately 50 new items ranging anywhere from half gallons of milk, peanut butter, lunchmeat and loaves of bread to pasta and spaghetti sauce.

“Bringing in these new items was a very good idea,” said Jacque Glascock, dinner worker and night supervisor at the Grill. “Now students can stock up on food for their apartment or dorm room when the Grill is closed for breaks or they want something different.”

Incorporating the new food items into the Grill’s market was something that LoVan said Simpson students influenced a great deal.

“What the food service department really wanted to do was fulfill the requests from students who wanted more variety to better utilize their flex dollars,” said LoVan. “There were a lot of students who didn’t know what to do with their flex dollars and felt that they didn’t have enough options.”

The apparent increases in sales suggest that students are happy with the changes.

“I like knowing that if I don’t have the time to get in my car and go to the store, I have the alternative of going to the Grill to get something that I need,” said Amy Miller, a freshman at Simpson and employee of the Storm Street Grill.

Junior Joy Davey agrees. “It is more convenient to have these basic and necessary items at the Grill, plus it helps students save money,” said Davey. “We pay for our flex dollars so there isn’t any reason why we shouldn’t have an adequate variety of food choices when using them.”