I’m a veteran of college food (and have the pounds to show for it) so trying to decipher RPS food options for incoming freshmen is a bit difficult. If you have the I-Bucks 60 plan, my math says $3250 in purchasing power divided by 40 weeks (2 semesters) comes to 81.50$ a week (retail prices) or about $10/meal for 8 meals a week (actual purchase price without discounts).
This is listed as the most popular option. What I’d like to know is what can one actually buy with this $10/day so that I can plan accordingly… Any feedback from existing IU foodies will be appreciated. DD2 will be at Collins LLC.
8 meals a week? Thats odd as most people eat at least 14. No matter…
Sign up for the cheapest plan you can. I dont know if Freshmen can get the I-bucks mini plan, but its the best deal. There’s no penalty or fee to add bucks later and they carry over from semester to semester, and year to year. Seniors can often be seen this time of year treating people before they graduate as there are no refunds then.
Depending on how many times I get off-campus food, I normally use around 6-10 i-bucks a day and add money once toward the end of each semester.
I used the 8 meals as a data point because our older one had the 8 meals a week plan in another flagship state and supplemented it with monthly parental Berlin Airlifts and extra dollars. I’m trying to arrive at an average total for a light lunch and a decent dinner in I-Bucks currency.
@turbo93 I would guess that a light lunch and decent dinner would probably cost around $15 on average which would equal 6 I-bucks. That might be a little on the cheap side though.
@IUBOOS Could you give me some advice on what to do for meals next year? I will be living in a house near the Union Street apartments with a couple other guys, and we plan on cooking/eating a decent number of meals at the house. I don’t think I would spend enough money to use up the mini plan. Should I just buy a bunch of i-bucks now since you can buy 1 i-buck for $1 and just spend the ones that carry over next semester without purchasing any meal plan? That was what I was thinking about doing but I’m not exactly sure how the system works
Thanks, @iubaccounting ! That’s my target number, if you have 10-11 IU bucks per day with the occasional eat outside places that everyone raved about should be manageable.
@iubaccounting Nice try, but they’ve thought of this trick. They still want their overhead costs each year.
You’ll only get a 25% discount (rather than the 60% you get now) on the extra rollover bucks without a new plan (or with an off-campus plan). This is still slightly better than paying the I-Bucks 25 overhead fee ($50 or $100) but the bucks will expire after the Fall semester.
“Any I-BUCKS remaining at the end of the Contract Term roll over at a twenty-five (25) percent discount rate and may
be used through December 17, 2017 if you do not buy any I-BUCKS plan for the 2017-18 academic year.”
There’s been a movement for several years to get IU to allow I-bucks at the IMU restaurants, but they keep resisting. Making too much money fleecing parents there no doubt.
Speaking of food… RPS mentioned a 3 cubic foot fridge size… Is this a HARD limit, or can we roll along a 4.4 cf all refrigerator (no freezer) unit that looks pretty compact? Is there an RPS Fridge Constable somewhere behind the potted plant in the dorm lobby with a yardstick enforcing the limit? The Danby 4.4 unit from Costco I have in mind is nearly identical in size to the 3.3 cf unit… The larger draws 1 amp while the smaller 0.88 amps. Is the limit based on amp draws?
You’re pushing it with a unit that big. I think the main concern is power usage on the limited circuits in your room. Mine’s 3.3 (18.5x19.5x33) with the freezer and I have people borrowing freezer space from me. Its nice to keep ice cream and the odd frozen meal. I’ve had no issues with the size even while it’s clearly bigger than most.
While the RAs mainly look for cooking devices like toasters and hot plates, they can always decide to be a pain and cite you, though I have never heard of a fridge being disallowed.
I should also have mentioned I got mine off craigslist for $75. Very nice Frigidaire only used one year… Every year thousands of college kids dump their stuff in May/June so good bargains can be found.
@turbo93 I should also mention that keeping the fridge stocked can be a pain without weekly shopping trips so it’s frequently half full.
While I don’t have a car, there’s always a friend who does but we never seem to go to the store all that often. Too much going on. Bottom line is that a giant fridge really isn’t necessary.
Well, Bloomington lacks the two pillars of civilization, Costco and Meijer :). We visited Sahara Foods and Bloomingfoods while there and I was actually quite impressed.
“two pillars of civilization, Costco and Meijer”
LOL
Most starving poor IU folks hit Kroger or Target near college mall for basics. You can ride bus there though that’s a pain. Walmart’s a bit far in wrong direction. Kroger just south of Downtown usually has sketchy folks hanging around outside so is avoided.
Lots of crazy expensive options for health foods, vegan, etc. in addition to those you mention. Luckys way south of town is Whole Foods wannabe with prices to match. Rich international students and overpaid administrators keep the high-end places in business.
We are ethnic actually and Sahara Mart was quite good. Bloomington is quite well stocked in terms of restaurants and foods. We’re a bit of a foodie family :).
