Meal Plans and Spending Accounts

FALL 2024 AND SPRING 2025 MEAL PLANS

A meal plan provides:

  • Convenience: Your 49er ID is used to purchase campus dining.
  • Variety and flexibility: Meal plans are designed to meet your dining needs; there are many places to eat on campus, including popular national brands.
  • Options for students with dietary needs and religious restrictions: Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-avoiding and healthy options are available in the dining halls and many of the retail locations. Menu items served in the dining halls will not contain peanuts or tree nuts as ingredients. However, individual packages of peanut butter and Nutella are available for students.
Meal Plan Selection

Overview of meal plans

All first-year residents* living on campus are enrolled in The Daily Plan. This plan maximizes the dining variety and value offered by the dining halls and campus retail dining.

Upperclass students assigned to residence halls without private kitchens may choose between The Daily Plan, the 160 Block Plan or the 100 Block Plan. Commuters may choose from any available meal plan, including Straight Declining Balance.

Fall semester plans are automatically renewed for the spring unless you change or cancel your meal plan.

Resident dining facilities will be closed during Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, Spring Break and University holidays. Declining Balance dollars can be used at retail dining locations on campus or at Domino’s on University City Boulevard during these breaks.  

Visit Dine on Campus for hours and menus.

*Meal plan options are based on student type as determined by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (first-year or upperclass), not based on number of credit hours. 

The Daily Plan: for all first-year resident students

The Daily Plan – $2,540 per semester, sales tax included

  • Unlimited meals, $200 Declining Balance (DB) funds and five (5) guest meals 
  • Meals may be used anytime SoVi and Social 704 are open. Students must wait 15 minutes between using meals at different locations.
  • A maximum of three (3) guest meals may be used at one time unless you ask the cashier. 
  • DB funds may be used throughout the semester including breaks, at any campus dining venue, including concessions and convenience stores.
  • Meals and guest meals expire at the end of the semester. Unspent DB rolls over until  Friday, August 8, 2025.

Plans available to upperclass students and commuters

Upperclass residents who are assigned to required housing – Holshouser, Hunt, Sanford, Scott and the suites in Belk, Hawthorn, Laurel, Levine, Lynch, Miltimore, Oak, Wallis and Witherspoon – may choose The Daily Plan or one of the following block meal plans. 

160/350 Block Plan 

$2,162 per semester, sales tax included 

  • 160 meals and $350 Declining Balance (DB) funds 
  • Meals may be used anytime SoVi and Social 704 are open. Meals are counted down as they are used. 
  • A maximum of three (3) guest meals may be used at one time unless you ask the cashier. 
  • DB funds may be used throughout the semester including breaks, at any campus dining venue, including concessions and convenience stores
  • Meals expire at the end of the semester; unused DB rolls over until Friday, August 8, 2025.

100/350 Block Plan    

$1,539 per semester, sales tax included 

  • 100 meals and $350 Declining Balance (DB) funds 
  • Meals may be used anytime SoVi and Social 704 are open. Meals are counted down as they are used.
  • A maximum of three (3) guest meals may be used at one time unless you ask the cashier.
  • DB funds may be used throughout the semester including breaks, at any campus dining venue, including concessions and convenience stores.
  • Meals expire at the end of the semester; unused DB rolls over until Friday, August 8, 2025.

Straight Declining (DB) Plans     

Commuters and upperclass residents assigned to non-required housing may purchase any meal plan, including any Straight Declining Balance Plan. 

$875 or $1,200 per semester

  • Offers $875 or $1,200 in DB funds that may be used throughout the semester including breaks, at any campus dining venue including sports concessions and campus convenience stores.
  • At the end of the semester, any unspent funds will carry over to the next semester until Friday, August 8, 2025. ​

IMPORTANT DATES

Fall semester

  • Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at noon: Last day for upperclass and commuter students to make changes or cancel their meal plan without incurring a $25 administrative fee
  • Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024: Meal plans go live and are able to be used on campus
  • Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at noon: Final deadline to change or cancel a meal plan
  • Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024: Last day to use meals for fall 2024 meal plans
  • Friday, Aug. 8, 2025: Declining Balance funds for AY 24-25 expire

Spring semester

  • Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, at noon: Last day for upperclass and commuter students to make changes or cancel their meal plan without incurring a $25 administrative fee
  • Monday, Jan. 6, 2025: Meal plans go live and are able to be used on campus
  • Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at noon: Deadline to change or cancel a meal plan
  • Thursday, May 8, 2025: Last day to use meals for spring 2025 meal plans
  • Friday, Aug. 8, 2025: Declining Balance funds for AY 24-25 expire

Dining hall closures

  • Thanksgiving break: Wednesday, Nov. 27 to Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024 (all dining halls closed)
  • Winter break: Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 to Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 (all dining halls closed)
  • Spring break: Saturday, March 1 to Saturday, March 8, 2025 (all dining halls closed)

Meal Periods

Students with The Daily Plan may only use one meal within a 15-minute period unless they are using a guest meal in addition to their meal. For example, if you’ve entered SoVi for dinner at 6:30 p.m., you will have to wait 15 minutes before you can enter Social 704. Weekend and holiday hours may affect meal periods.

BreakfastLunchMiddayDinner
7 a.m. to 10 a.m.10 a.m. to 2 p.m.2 p.m. to 5 p.m.5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Meal periods

Dining accounts

An Optional Dining Account (ODA) is a debit account that can be used at all campus dining locations, including convenience stores. It is available to all students, and deposits can be made at any time during the year. Unused balances roll over from semester to semester and year to year as long as the student is enrolled.

For any resident student, ODA can supplement a meal plan and may be used when declining balance (DB) funds have been spent. ODA is also a convenient choice for students who live in Wallis, Greek Village or on-campus apartments.

ODA Information