Columbia University students really do love their Nutella. They’re stealing the spread — a mix of flavored chocolate with hazelnut — with such widespread abandon that the school’s having to pay an extra $5,000 a week to keep shelves stocked enough to meet demand.
The crimes are committed using various cup-like instruments, The Daily Mail says. Students apparently scoop Nutella into any variety of containers — more than can be comfortably consumed at one sitting — and sneak it off to their dormitory rooms.
The thefts are brazen and widespread, administrators say, in The Daily Mail. At least two of the Ivy League’s dining halls have been hit.
“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,” said one official, quoted in The Daily Mail report.
Cafeteria officials added Nutella to the school’s offerings a month ago. Since, the college has spent $20,000 to buy enough to meet demand — and if the thefts don’t stop, they’re on track to blow $250,000 on Nutella before year’s end, The Daily Mail reports.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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