Yeah, my step-daughter is a vegetarian. She cannot opt out of the several thousand dollar a year meal plan at her college despite the campus dining facilities having often only one not-particularly-good vegetarian option (I'm not vegetarian but when visiting I've tried the options).

So we're left with paying her credit card to buy groceries and a largely unused meal plan.

> it’s worth examining why the school feels compelled to make the meal plan mandatory in the first place.

Well, that's often because Aramark and Chartwells (Compass) require that in their contracts. My partner is the Accounting Manager for another university in our state and that's mandated in their contract (along with other clauses like "any event on campus must be offered to us for catering first, and we will either cater it or decline, and only then can you use another caterer").

There can be debates on why that is allowed in the negotiation, though.