To meal plan - or not to meal plan

What does everyone think? My son is very active and eats a ridiculous amount of food, but he is a little picky about quality. If we get the all you can eat meal plan - $1,980 (plus the VIP package for $99) he can have unlimited access to the dining halls plus about $7 to spend at the fast food joints that are part of the dining plan. The total cost of this plan is about $18.50 per day.

My thoughts are that he will want to eat more at the fast food places than the dining halls. Plus I have heard there is a lot of free food on campus. I’m wondering if it would be better to just spend the same amount of money and get the dining dollars where he can use anywhere all the time.

My husband, on the other hand, thinks that most of the kids will be using the dining hall and so he’ll just end up going where his buddies go to eat and it will cost us more without the plan.

This is well discussed on the facebook parent forums. Most posters will tell you the meal plan wasn’t worth the cost. You can always pay as you go at first and then opt in later. Our DD never regretted opting out.

Thanks @HappyDad2 - I’m not familiar with the facebook parent forums.

My daughter, nor any of her friends eat in the dining hall. Lots of eating out and they go to the grocery store. The dining halls are terrible. You can check out the menus online and see if he would eat what they are serving. I just put some of her monthly allowance (the money I would have spent on the dining plan) in her knights cash.

For $495 a month he could probably just eat out. Will he come home on the weekend? Thanksgiving is also built in. I don’t have boys so I can’t really give the best estimate, but for my daughter, $495 a month has covered all her expenses for the month. She also has her car- so it’s easier for her to get places.

This might be a discuss best for PM. Not hard to find just search for them in FB.

Why best for PM…just curious.

Pointing people to other discussion boards off CC is frowned upon by the moderators. While I believe only actual linking is against the rules I think it is just bad form.

@jeneric He won’t have a car and won’t be coming home most weekends. But I’m willing to stock him frequently with stuff. He’s always been a big eater and likes variety. He is trying to get into Neptune and they have the Provisions-On-Demand which might help.

He’s picky about quality but you think he’d eat more at the fast food places? I’m a little lost.

@Tgh123 Just asked D what is at POD- mostly junk, sushi, sometimes sandwiches and lean cuisine. Sounds eclectic! She says it is mostly junk. There are a lot of fast food places around. Maybe wait to buy the dining plan- see if any of his suite mates have it. He can pay cash and then decide. Chipolte delivers. One of his suite mates will hopefully have a car and they can hit target or Publix once a week. He should check out Lazy Moon pizza- one pizza would feed my D for a month- biggest pizza I’ve ever seen- might feed your son for a meal! :))

@NEPatsGirl idk school cafeteria food doesn’t usually scream quality to me, both in ingredients and preparation, but I suppose UCF could be different.

@jeneric I am surprised about POD. I know there is a bunch of junk food there but I thought I saw packaged salads and fruit there too.