<p>Any advice for child eating in dorms. At my last two kids' colleges they swiped their card and ate a meal-basically whatever they wanted in the cafeterias-ucla,usc. Then if they went to faster type food places on campus paid by the item on the card.
My kid used up his whole dining plan half way through the quarter. I think he had Meal plan 3 or 5 about 1500$. Each individual thing is charged and he claims everything is overpriced. We keep adding money to his husky card
Anyone else have this issue and what was your solution? Is there no cafeteria where you just swipe your card and get a set meal? I don't think he bought a veggie or fruit all quarter.
thanks for any help</p>
<p>Yup, the food here can be pretty overpriced for what you get–I believe dinners here usually cost around $6-8. Lunches tend to be a little cheaper because you have food truck options as well as the HUB cafeteria, but once you factor in soda and coffee and snacks and all that, it tends to add up. Still, I don’t think it warrants spending THAT much money in six weeks, haha. </p>
<p>I had a level 1 dining plan and had to add some money to my Husky card around two weeks ago. I think I could’ve made it through the quarter had I been a little more prudent with my spending in the beginning, but I do live nearby, so it’s not like I’m eating all my meals on campus. </p>
<p>Here are some things one can do to budget a bit: </p>
<ul>
<li>Purchase less coffee (a tall coffee costs around $4–if you really want some caffeine, I would suggest getting a Keurig or brewing your own) </li>
<li>Limit toppings on food (you can add chicken, meatballs, etc. to your pasta and whatnot, but it’s not really worth the extra few dollars)</li>
<li>Cut down on snacks (or buy them off-campus because there is a significant markup; captive audience and all that) </li>
<li>Buy beverages in bulk (sports drinks and the like cost a lot of money when purchased individually)</li>
<li>Eat on the Ave (food off-campus is usually cheaper and the portions are larger)</li>
</ul>
<p>To figure out how much you can spend a day, just divide the number of school days by the amount on your dining plan. For example, I think a level 3 one allows you to spend around $14 a day, which is…surprisingly not a lot. So I think it’s pretty important to be careful with how much you spend. </p>
<p>Hope this helped, and best of luck! </p>
To be fair, everything is actually overpriced. Sadly, fruits and vegetables are priced the highest, especially at the district market on west campus.
I definitely had this issue last year when I lived in the dorms as well. I found myself eating whatever I wanted and not eating healthily either. The best thing your kid can do is regularly eat at one of the main dining halls, either The 8 or Local Point, rather than eating in the smaller and more pricey venues like the ones available in McCarty or getting produce at the district market. Food trucks are inexpensive though! Not the healthiest, but very cheap!
It really comes down to him being able to budget his individual meals out to be $6 or so. Snacks and coffee add a lot to the meal plan.
Hope this helps!