SHREVEPORT, La. — Pilot Dining Dollars, Louisiana State University Shreveport’s first-ever meal plan, is gaining momentum as the program enters its third year. Participation grew 25% in the program’s second year (2025-26) compared with its inaugural year (2024-25), reaching 115 participants.

Program Details

More than $110,000 has been deposited through the program’s first two years, including an $8,000 increase in student-funded accounts from the first to the second year. Because the plan allows students to use financial aid at campus venues — including The Port Grille, the library coffee shop STACKS and campus vending machines — LSUS Food Services is seeing a steady rise in student customers.

Trish Farnsworth-Smith, director of LSUS Auxiliary Services, said families and students are becoming more aware of the program’s convenience and flexibility. “We’re continuing to reinforce that this opportunity is here, and students and their families are becoming more aware of the benefits of this program, especially being able to use financial aid,” Farnsworth-Smith said.

Instead of using traditional meal swipes, Pilot Dining Dollars operates as a declining balance account linked to student ID cards, functioning like a debit card. Funds deposited into the account are tax-exempt, helping stretch student budgets further.

STACKS, the library coffee shop, recorded the highest growth in the program’s second year, seeing an increase of nearly 30% in Pilot Dining Dollars spending. “We’re seeing that students who have the plan are bringing students who don’t have a plan, and that’s increasing student engagement overall in our dining areas,” Farnsworth-Smith said.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.