<p>So, I'm about 80% sure I'll be attending UMd this fall, but I had some questions concerning food and the meal plans...</p>
<p>Is the food decent? Do you feel like you have to eat the same things every day/week? </p>
<p>Do the dining plans work well? Any complaints/advice?</p>
<p>How do the resident points work?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for any responses</p>
<p>My son was concerned about this too. But he talked to people who convinced him that the point system is BETTER than all-you-can-eat because you can split your food consumption any way you want to over the day rather than just having 2 or 3 big meals. He was told that you get plenty of points for the semester, and that if you run out you can always add more (or find a girl who doesn’t eat much and get her to share some points with you!)</p>
<p>People have different opinions about the food. Some people love it and some people hate it. Personally, I think it’s OK, but the dining services have gotten worse this year. They recently implemented a plan as part of the sustainability initiative on campus, and part of that is switching from the larger, styrofoam containers (for those who take out their food rather than eating in) to smaller, cardboard containers that can be recycled. It sounds good in theory, but most people do not return the containers back to the diner to be recycled so they end up going into the same trash bins as the styrofoam ones. Also, the containers are smaller (which means less food for the same amount of money) and they’re poor quality.</p>
<p>Anyway, some of the food that is almost always offered at the diner are: wraps, cold sandwiches, hot dogs, pizza, spaghetti, salad bar, soups (different everyday), vegan stirfry, burgers, quesadillas, grilled chicken sandwiches, rotisserie chicken + accompanying side dishes, and taco salads. They also have a value menu that changes every meal and you can find that you can find at [University</a> of Maryland Dining Services Value Meals Menu](<a href=“http://dining.umd.edu/menus_location/value-meals-menu]University”>http://dining.umd.edu/menus_location/value-meals-menu). There are also special events (like sushi days) at the diner on certain dates. </p>
<p>The dining plan that most people pick (Resident Dining Plan) gives you $1150 in points to spend at the north campus and south campus diners. Each point equals $1, so a meal costing $5.95 will also cost you 5.95 in points. When I was a freshman, my points were budgeted to prevent anyone from overspending in the last few weeks of the semester. Every three weeks, my points were automatically reduced to $200 less than the last limit so I always had to make sure that I was below the limit (or I would lose money). However, after 2 semesters of budgeting, you can opt out on the condition that you spend no more than $40/day in the last few weeks of the semester. If you ever find yourself with extra points, you can always take some friends to Adele’s, the sit-down restaurant at Stamp. They will let you pay for the meal with dining points during dinnertime. If you’re low on points, you can do what Pax said and find a girl who has extra.</p>
<p>DS takes his friends to Adeles the last Sunday of every month, b/c he always has extra points, it is now a tradition for them.</p>