UW-Madison Housing & Dining hosted a “resident appreciation” dinner across campus on May 1, offering thousands of lobsters to students on meal plans. Staff even set up lobster-cracking stations to help students navigate the shells. At Liz Waters dining hall, salmon and steak were served instead.
Records obtained by The Cardinal show the university purchased about 2,354 pounds of lobster at $15.69 per pound, totaling more than $36,000 — excluding shipping and travel costs. The expense came from UW Dining’s $46 million annual operating budget, funded through housing contracts, meal plans and dining sales.