Columbia University students are stealing approximately 100 pounds of Nutella, a mix of flavored chocolate with hazelnut spread, a day, and it is costing the university $450 a week to keep the shelves stocked enough to meet their demands.
Students scoop nutella to not only eat in the dining hall but also chart it away in various cups and containers and sometimes sneak full jars into their dorm rooms.
"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," the executive director of Dining Services, Vicki Dunn, told Columbia Spectator.
Cafeteria officials said that they started offering Nutella at dining halls as part of their food services from last month, and so far, they have spent $20,000 on the spread.
The officials predict that if this continues, they must have spent around $250,000 on Nutella, by end of this year. However, they are not planning to stop serving it.
At the school's cafeterias, Nutella is placed next to the peanut butter, jam, and cream cheese along with other condiments.
Even though students face the risk of adding 200 calories to their body weight for every two tablespoon, they feel that it is their right to do so as dining costs are a bit expensive at $2,363 per semester.
The administrators have reported that at least two of their dining halls have been affected with this madness. The University's cafeterias serve up to 3,600 students every day, which makes it difficult for them to hunt down the perpetrators.
Peter Bailinson, a freshman and a member of student government, told New York Times that apart from Nutella, the students are also lifting silverware, cups and plates from the dining halls, causing additional expenses to the cafeteria administration of $50,000, a week.
Students also confessed to taking loaves of bread, bottles of ketchup, containers of milk and pieces of fruit to their dorms.
The nutella services at cafeterias have also resulted in dorm fights where students complain about their roommates finishing up their jars.