What's not to love about the creamy, chocolaty, perfectly hazelnut infused spread, Nutella? However, Columbia University students seem to love it a little too much. According to a newly published report, Columbia University students are consuming up to a whopping 100 pounds of the spread a day with a price tag of as much as $5,000 a week on the delicious spread.
The executive director of Dining Services, Vicki Dunn believes that undergrads are taking it back to their dorm to eat at a leisurely pace.
"The demand [for Nutella] has been greater than originally expected," she said to The Columbia Spectator. "Students have been filling cups of Nutella to-go in Ferris Booth Commons and taking the full jars out of John Jay, which means we're going through product faster than anticipated."
A student at Columbia Grayson Warrick said that some students feel entitled to keep the treat in their room, because of high tuition fees.
"When you're paying that much for a dining plan, some people feel a bit more entitled to taking things from the dining hall," he said to the Spectator. "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."
The New York Times reported that last month Columbia's undergraduate hall started serving the sweet treat everyday.
"People take silverware, cups and plates, and that adds up over the course of a year to a lot of money," said council member Peter Bailinson to The New York Times. "With Nutella, it added up much more quickly. Where Dining might have to spend $50,000 to replace silverware and cups, they were spending thousands of dollars on Nutella in one week."
However a spokesperson declined to comment to The New York Times about the Nutella situation and said that the report in the Columbia Spectator was "speculative and innacurate."
Bailinson gave his explanation as to why he thinks people are consuming it so much at Columbia. "It combines three things people at Columbia love: People love Nutella, people love complaining about the dining halls and people feel there's a problem with how the administration handles things," he said to The New York Times. "This Nutella situation is a perfect storm of all these interests coming together."
"Nutella hazelnut spread was first imported from Italy to the U.S. over 25 years ago by Ferrero U.S.A., Inc. The popularity of Nutella has grown steadily over the years and it is the number one selling branded hazelnut spread in America," says Nutella's website."The unique taste of Nutella hazelnut spread continues to come from the combination of roasted hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of cocoa. In addition, Nutella has no artificial colors or preservatives."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
