Yes, at small LACs we found it was often all you want in the main dining hall(s) (and either 3 entry swipes a day or come as often as you like, depending on school) and then a limited number of times/items at kiosks/small venues per day. So lots of opportunities to pop in somewhere and get a snack. Or to sit in the dining hall for 5 hrs straight doing homework and socializing while also grazing.
I remember at least one school was like … it’s perfectly fine to eat lunch at x and then go to y to get dessert. It’s all included.
We definitely noticed the x swipes a semester thing at large universities. In the end she only looked at places that gave at least 3 swipes/day 7days/week. Her current school is unlimited times into the main dining hall a day PLUS 3x/day swipes at smaller locations/snack places. There are no options to customize a meal plan.
I think the school wants to ensure there are no food scarcity/insecurity issues. Lots of kids on full scholarship. And honestly probably lots of kids with eating disorders that the school doesn’t want to contribute to by making everyone think about food any more than needed. And it makes for a nice social environment if anyone can pop into the dining hall to hang out with friends at any time.
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At my daughter’s college (while on the first-year “full” meal plan) she never ran out of swipes, in fact kids often had unused swipes. There was even a student-run system to “donate” unused swipes for students with food insecurities.
My daughter sometimes would use a swipe to put together a doggie-bag she was taking to her apartment after class.
The meal plan allowed customizing, with the ability to purchasing extra swipes and/or “dining dollars” for other boutique venues/cafes at the same “per” rate at any time. This allowed 2nd-4th year students who might be cooking in their apartments, to pick a suitable lesser plan without risk.
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My daughter had a choice as a freshman of unlimited swipes any day or swipes M-F and then a certain amount ($800?) for weekends and other eating places like a deli, pizza, smoothies. As a soph-sr, I think she always took the $$$ on the card and swipes deducted a certain amount off her card, like $6 for breakfast, $11 for dinner.
Her boyfriend had lunches M-F as an upperclassman (he lived in an apartment). He figured out her could go at 10:30 and eat, leave, come back and eat again at 12, and if he could get back by 3 he could eat again. As long as he didn’t leave the cafeteria after 3 he could stay until they closed. My daughter always had a ton of swipes on her card. She could also go to the grocery store they had on campus and take stuff home, even cleaning supplies and TP and whatever else they wanted. At the end of senior year, they’d all go buy cases of food and leave it at the house they rented for the next year’s renters (always handed the house down to the next group of players on her team).
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Daughter #2 goes to a university that’s rated (I believe) #3 in food and even she starts to complain about it after a while. Hers is a large public U and I am always impressed that they are consistently rated so high for food with a state U price tag. They do amazing theme nights, chili cookoffs and even had an oyster night recently.
My husband is from Syracuse, and we lived there for 10 years after we married. Syracuse and the area around it has amazing food (it’s the one thing my husband misses about being there). It’s a shame that the university can’t tap into some of that.
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Both of my kids have all you can eat options - meaning go in as often as you want and eat as much as you want while in there.
Those all-you-can-eat places aren’t the only options on campus for either of them, and there is a system by which you can trade that all-you-can-eat option for a meal period for a different option (a single swipe or certain amount of money at a different dining hall, for example).
Both schools have multiple dining halls and one that is designated all-you-can-eat. What that means at each of their two schools is if you go in that dining hall during the lunch meal period, for example, you can eat what you want and then leave and come back an hour later or 20 min later or whenever within that same lunch period and do it again. And again.
But by entering that dining hall during the lunch period, you now can’t go use your meal swipe for lunch at another dining hall during that same period. (Though you could go both to the all you can eat place as many times as desired during lunch and still go use dining dollars - of which you have a limited but reasonable supply - at another location during the same period if you wanted to).
One kid does have it more flexible than the other (and attends a larger and more well resourced school so probably to be expected).
@DigitalDad & @twoinanddone - I love hearing about meal plans that allow students to give to others with their excess swipes/$. There’s no pressure on a kid to “get maximum value” out of the plan, because someone will use the swipes/$. Our kids are very fortunate to have enough food and being able to give some away is a great way to recognize our privilege (and feel good about sharing)!
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To clarify - at her college, it wasn’t actually a feature of the meal plan - but it was a student-organized action, stretching the rules that you can “swipe-in a guest”. But, that too, made me feel good about students, amongst themselves, on their own, having the awareness that there was need for action and showing compassion for the plight of fellow students.
I have to say/admit that only through my daughter did I learn about the extent, or other facets, of our privilege that I had been completely ignorant about.
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I think this is such a good idea that if it isn’t already a thing at wherever S24 ends up, I will suggest he think about seeing if he can make it a thing.
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D23 is at Trinity U and they are asked to donate their extra swipes at the end of each term.
Trinity also has an optional unlimited plan. Sadly, the food isn’t great.
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My DD22 also judged the campuses based on the food, especially since she is very into gut health. Check out UMass Amherst and Virginia Tech. She ended up at UW Seattle which is not known for its food and has a pay for what you eat system. She liked this because she could use her meal plan for coffee and stocked up her dorm refrigerator with healthy grab as you go food. In her second year she is living off campus to have a kitchen. She cooks on Sunday and stocks her refrigerator for the week. Plus there are a ton of meal delivery options and the local grocery stores are stocked with ready made meals.
At UC Davis, you pay by the day rather than the meal. They offer 5 day and 7 day meal plans. Students often start with 7 day plans and, as they tire of dining common food, they switch to a 5 days plan.
Housing at UC Davis feels, with these plans, students are less likely to over eat, and there is less food waste. The way they explained it to us is that they want students to view the dining commons as their kitchen at home. Grab a cup of coffee and a banana on the way to your 8 am class, then come back for breakfast afterwards. Eat dinner, go back to your dorm room, and return later in the evening for dessert.
They also use their dining commons as study spaces in the evenings.
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Meal swipe donation: My D23’s college just started this as well this year. My D20 college has been doing it- I hope it spreads!
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Yes, it was an eye-opener for myself. Despite all the talk about colleges “meeting need”, the reality is that some students are forced to live on a very strict budget - which includes them also budgeting food. And for commuter students, they might even bring home (their) meals to younger siblings, or elderly family members.
There are quite many ways how students can/do organize substantial and critical food and clothing assistance, e.g.:
in addition to an actual food pantry:
https://bwog.com/2019/12/the-food-pantry-at-columbia-has-expanded-to-barnard-a-history-of-food-insecurity-at-barnumbia/
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Absolutely love that! My sophomore year of undergrad I lived in a pretty far off-campus dorm and relied on a shuttle to get to campus and back. I spent hours in the all-you-care-to-eat dining hall — studying, socializing, and sometimes eating. I think expanding that concept to cover the entire day (like UC Davis has done) would encourage even more of that collegiate conviviality. I wish more places had a setup like that.
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DS is drawn, to a (literally) unhealthy degree, to Panda Express. Gross. Like a moth to a flame on every college tour. If there was a Panda Express in the food court - and there often was - he hit it. Ugh.
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Our school got a new dining provider this year and freshman/sophomore meal plans are unlimited access. They also have some dining dollars to use at other vendors on campus.
My D21 walked into Lehigh’s bookstore and turned right back around. Said, “no way I can wear brown for four years.”
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My D24 is not on medication but she has always had an extremely small appetite. As an infant she was in early intervention and was tracked by a dietitian due to her very low daily intake. As she’s gotten older she still doesn’t eat a lot and is tiny. The meals she does eat are important and we’ve made sure to try the food at every school we’ve visited to make sure there are options she’ll eat. On the other hand my other child has always had a healthy appetite and I’ve never been concerned about him finding something to eat.
We all prioritize different things on our college search and that’s fine. Food is just one of many factors we’ve considered with each visit. Like I said, we were really impressed with everything else about Syracuse on our visit and she’s still considering applying. I’m just not sure what we’d do about the food situation.
Lol that was one of the places we tried at Syracuse. It’s usually consistently edible which was why we thought it would be a good option. But the flavors were really off. Maybe they were having a bad day.
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