<p>Which food plan you guys think is the best to choose?
I do eat 3 meals a day.
If I pay at EVK with dining dollars, how much is it?
Any info is great!
Thanks :)</p>
<p>Start with the standard plan - you can always upgrade if you find you are starving. I was concerned about this last year - “ten meals per week” did not sound like enough food for my darling daughter. I wanted her to have 3-meals-per-day-seven-days-a-week! She found that there was always too much food! She had meals and dining dollars left over at th end of each semester. At the ens of the semester everyone brings home boxes of candy bars and cookies they buy with leftover dining dollars.</p>
<p>Discretionary money can be added to your card at any time and is a bit more flexible than dining dollars: it can be used for books, supplies, snacks, vending machines as well as at the dining halls. Also, discretionary carries over semester-to-semester - unlike dining dollars which expire at the end of the semester.</p>
<p>I think she told me a single meal at Parkside was $8 if you pay with dining or discretionary. Does anyone know for sure?</p>
<p>I’ve been wondering about this too. I’d like to know if the meals are price differently if you pay with dining dollars? (ie. Are meals discounted if dining dollars used?) (It’s good to know they can use discretionary dollars.) If the meals are discounted at all for “dining dollars” can they be added later? or do you then use the discretionary $?</p>
<p>There seems to be 2 plans most likely for us: both with 10 meals, but one of them has more “dining dollars”. I’ve been wondering if my D will need them? She usually eats yogurt or bananas, etc for breakfast, so I doubt she’ll need breakfasts, but might she need the extra meals for the weekends? </p>
<p>I figured we’d start with the smaller one & bump up if we can. What do most girls get?</p>
<p>When we committed to housing in North, the only plan option given to us was the Cardinal Plan which is 10 weekly meals and $510 dinning dollars per semester. I’m thinking that the $510 will buy maybe another 63 meals ($8+ per meal), but probably less when you consider snacks and such. </p>
<p>I have a young man eating us out of house and home so I think we will be upgrading to the Gold Plan which includes 10 weekly meals and $700 dinning dollars per semester or about 80 additional meals plus a few snack runs.</p>
<p>Anyone know how to upgrade plans online?</p>
<p>Fight On!</p>
<p>I am also concerned about how to best approach the meal plan without losing money. My son ate at Parkside first semester. He did not like the food that much and ran out of money at the end of the first semester. Therefore, he upgraded to a plan where he was able to buy more meals at Cafe 84. He likes Cafe 84 but ended up with too much non-refundable money in his meal plan. Anyone know how to get some meals at Cafe 84 and not lose money at the end if you don’t use all the money? Advice is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>doame, I would recommend you go with your first instinct - get the standard plan and upgrade later if you have to. Last year the kids were allowed to take one piece of fruit with them as they left Parkside - so an apple or banana works well to get them going in the morning if they grab one the day before (especially if they keep quick, healthy snacks on hand in their room). They can use their dining dollars at the “Lot,” [The</a> Lot - Welcome to The Lot](<a href=“http://thelot.usc.edu/]The”>http://thelot.usc.edu/) which is standing in while the new student union is being built. There are sandwiches and some fast-food places where the cost is reasonable and dining dollars are accepted.</p>
<p>College Frenzy, I think the plan can be upgraded after they have set up their USCard - there is plenty of time. Log in and click around for “dining” or “meal plans.” One way to get “more” meals is to sit down to do your studying and homework in the cafeteria. They are all-you-can-eat, so if you plunk yourself down and have a meal, then study or work on a paper for three hours, you can have another meal for no extra cost.</p>
<p>mdcissp, maybe he should use discretionary dollars instead of dining dollars for Cafe 84. They carry over semester-to-semester and are refundable at graduation. You could get one of the apartment meal plans to go along with it so he could use the cafeterias occasionally - there is a 25-meal plan and a 50-meal plan.</p>
<p>Dining brochure: <a href=“http://hospitality.usc.edu/forms/meal_plans.pdf[/url]”>http://hospitality.usc.edu/forms/meal_plans.pdf</a></p>
<p>The 2 most popular plans are Cardinal (the standard one) and Trojan. Cardinal is the 10 meal a week and some dining dollars. Trojan is all dining dollars. Either way, most people do not use up all their meals or dining dollars on either plan. At the end of first semester, I had around 40 leftover meals (which are NOT carried over to the next semester) and around $50 dining collars on Cardinal. So second semester, I ended up going to EVK for just a drink or ice cream or something. People on Trojan often have hundreds of dollars left, so they often will go to TroGro and offer to buy people whatever they want. Go with one of these 2 plans though. Trojan is best if you don’t want to eat mainly at EVK and Parkside (though the dining dollars can be used at EVK and Parkside). Cardinal is better if you plan on eating at mainly EVK and Parkside.</p>
<p>Breakfast at EVK is $8 and lunch and dinner are $12. The same price is used if you’re using cash, discretionary, or dining dollars. So it’s pointless upgrading Cardinal for more dining dollars unless you’re getting Trojan. So as alamemom said, use discretionary instead of dining dollars.</p>
<p>Hope this helps :)</p>
<p>btw, what’s the cardinal plan? i remember selecting it during my housing confirmation, but has the name been changed to the traveler’s plan? (in my “Living at USC” booklet, it says we only get 9 meals/week, and $350 dining for the traveler’s…no mention of a cardinal plan)</p>
<p>Breakfast is $8, Lunch is $10, and Dinner is $12 at Parkside/EVK if you pay with cash/dining/discretionary.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the meal plan brochure. My son does not want to eat at EVK or Parkside. The buffets are too much food. He says he likes Cafe 84 and from what I can tell of the brochure, we have to pay almost $3,000. a semester for Cafe 84. He took this plan last semester and ended up with non-refundable money in the plan. Is it better just to give him money per semester and pay as you go? My son said he wants a car to grocery shop and car expenses are just sky high in the USC neighborhood (i.e. car insurance $400. or more per month alone and with a perfect driving record–teens have high insurance rates in that area). Any advice is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>For the sophomore year, I plan to give my daughter money to buy her own food which is what she prefers. She did not like EVK(had 5 meal plans left for the semester). I paid for the minimum meal plan($2547) and then gave her extra money in cash so she can use whenever she liked.</p>
<p>Is the best thing to put money in the discretionary account? Can the money in the discretionary account be used at Cafe 84? Are there discounts with the meal plan or is the price the same with the discretionary account money?</p>
<p>I guess my son is in the minority, but he was very happy with the food at Parkside and he loved being on the unlimited meal plan. It was called Express or something like that last year, and gave him unlimited meals in Parkside or EVK, with no dining dollars. It was actually cheaper than the other plans, and is a very good value for a kid who won’t be going home on weekends and who doesn’t want to have to think about whether he has enough meals or dollars left on his plan. He liked being able to eat breakfast twice, and being able to go in just to get a yogurt or piece of fruit between meals. He didn’t seem to miss the dining dollars. He would just pay cash if he ate at the Lot.</p>
<p>Mdcissp: The best thing is definitely to put money in discretionary if they aren’t required to have a meal plan. It is just as convenient as dining dollars, and as many others have said, carry over from semester to semester. It can be used everywhere, including the new off campus restaurants (Rossos, The Lab, Etc), where dining dollars can’t be used. The discount on the meal plan is minor, and you will probably save money going through discretionary.</p>
<p>Thank you so much Nikara and other responses. Do you know if the Organic food market ever took off at USC and if there are specialty stores like Whole Foods near by?</p>
<p>^ i second the organic food market. considering that makes up the majority of the food i eat, id like to know if in advance im going to starve next year lol</p>
<p>The farmers market definitely is popular. It is available once a month on a Thursday- encourage your child to sign up for their facebook group to get updates on when it is coming. There is tons of excellent fruit, vegetables, bread, cheeses, and other awesome foods. Very cool!</p>
<p>do you know if it is located near the 'SC campus?</p>
<p>It is in the middle of campus, right next to tommy trojan. Usually there is also live entertainment and some hot food you can purchase to eat there. Here is the facebook group: [Login</a> | Facebook](<a href=“http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=8352747242]Login”>http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=8352747242)</p>
<p>Oh, they also take Discresh at Galen Dining hall (behind Heritage hall) which is the best place for lunch on campus. </p>
<p>I think the meal plans are a good deal only if you plan on eating the majority of your meals at the dining hall because you do get a discount on those meals versus Discretionary. Otherwise, there isn’t a discount. However, Freshmen don’t really have an option.</p>