Columbia students eat 100 pounds of Nutella a day

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Anyone who had a meal plan in college is familiar with the strategy of grabbing extra food at the dining hall to save for later.

If students at Columbia University are taking it a bit far, you can hardly blame them: the school's dining services began offering Nutella last month, and the undergrads are taking full advantage.

"The demand has been greater than originally expected," said Vicki Dunn, Dining Services director, in an email to students. "Students have been filling cups of Nutella to-go in Ferris Booth Commons and taking full jars out of John Jay, which means we're going through product faster than expected."

Faster than expected... to the tune of $5,000 of Nutella per week, or 100 pounds a day.

At that rate, said student representative Peter Bailinson, Columbia would spend $250,000 on hazelnut chocolate spread in a year.

According to the Columbia Spectator, the two dining halls, Ferris Booth Commons and John Jay Dining Hall, serve between 4,600 and 5,600 students a day.

Students pay up to $2,363 for a dining plan per semester, so they may feel they are entitled to filch a little extra from the buffet.

“But what they don’t realize is that dining uses any extra money to get awesome new items like Nutella, almond butter, and to make structural changes like the JJ’s renovation,” Bailinson said.