<p>I know there are a lot of you thrifty people and/or cooks out there, but wonder what most upperclassmen, especially those with a heavy courseload, get for their meal plan after the required freshman year.</p>
<p>I apologize for the redunancy, I know this has been discussed a lot, but for those who go above the 50 plan, what has worked or do you think will work best for you, the bronze or the silver?</p>
<p>Especially interested in kids with no car, no time to cook, and will be eating most of their meals in the dining hall. Logistically, NOT economically, which plan makes the most sense?</p>
<p>i think my DD will get 90. she eats lunch pretty much every day on campus.</p>
<p>roughly 15 weeks times 5 is 75 lunches that leaves 15 to spare for dinners. not many dinners, is it. cut that back to 4 per week and then there are 30 left for dinners, so two dinners per week.</p>
<p>she <em>never</em> eats breakfast at the dining hall, so that won’t impact the count at all.</p>
<p>kids can easily feed themselves breakfast in the dorm. cereal, bagel, etc. you can even do bacon and eggs in the microwave if you want. they could make a breakfast casserole for the week or breakfast tacos or breakfast sandwiches to freeze. they could do the same with pancakes or waffles.</p>
<p>lunch would be easy to make with sandwiches or salads and the like.</p>
<p>i don’t expect my kid to actually “cook” a lot of meals, but she can feed herself fairly easily. and i am pretty sure she can feed herself almost any meal at home for less than the 6 or 9 dollars it costs at the dining hall.</p>
<p>even if she eats out, she is pretty thrifty and can get by on sharing a meal if there is someone to share with. she will also eat her leftovers if she orders a meal she can’t finish. she also cut out all sodas this year (and lost a few pounds in the process) so all she orders to drink now is water.</p>
<p>90 meals doesn’t sound like much, but i think it will be fine. i would rather let her have some choice over what she eats than “having” to eat at the dining hall all the time. i am sure that gets old.</p>
<p>We’ve decided to go with the 90 - bronze (?) plan after reviewing last years: “left overs”; he mostly had dinner and/or lunch in dining halls (if he had an evening course/event, he’d have a late big lunch); and, he’s more of the quick in suite breakfast eater. I also got the impression he and roommates always had stuff for sandwiches on hand (sharing bread so it wouldn’t go bad).</p>
<p>you can also base it on what your kid used last year. how many meals did she have left over. would she like to use the meal plan in about the same way this year? figure up how many total meals she used last year and try to get a plan that gives her about that number of meals. if she needs more than the closest plan allows, pay for breakfast with cash or dining dollars or whatever and use the meal plan meals for lunches and dinners.</p>
<p>my kid used 260 total meals for the year (and that was with TRYING to use them as much as possible). based on that alone, we “wasted” over 500 dollars worth of the meals over the year.</p>
<p>so … the difference between the silver and the bronze is 584 per semester. so if you go with the bronze, you could use the 584 dollars towards pay as you go meals or for meals at other venues. that is 58 meals at 10 dollars per meal. which then covers 150 meals - almost the same as the silver plan (160). or at 6.50 per meal (breakfasts on campus) you can get 89 breakfasts, which is almost enough for breakfast every weekday during the whole semester. so with the same money as the silver plan ($1350), you could stretch that into 179 dining halls meals … but, really, who wants to do that!!! haha</p>
<p>i know this is more the financial than the logistical answer you wanted. </p>
<p>logistically, they can easily feed themselves two meals a day in the suites without a lot of trouble if they want to.</p>
<p>apparently i am just a font of info on this topic … because i just thought of something else!</p>
<p>kids can also make sandwiches ahead of time and freeze them. we do this for my other daughter so she can make her lunch easily in the morning.</p>
<p>we do meat cheese and bread. wrap and freeze. you can also add mayo or mustard from a little packet. my kids don’t do veggies on sandwiches, so this works great for them.</p>
<p>this makes for an easy grab and go! </p>
<p>this way you buy buns, meat and cheese one time and make sandwiches for a week or two. one mess. no waste as all the meat/cheese/buns get made into sandwiches and frozen.</p>
<p>^^^Ha, ha, thanks, Mike. Well, we had the unlimited last year. He had a good bonus scholarship last year that covered it and H was worried about S not eating enough. No problem there! The thing is, he really ate healthier at the dining halls and even lost a good bit of weight. Not liking the food is a good diet! </p>
<p>He’s got a similar schedule again this year, and will probably eat at Fresh Food when he can. He may eat at Lakeside for the social atmosphere more than the food. I’m sure there will be more freshmen on the floor that he’ll make friends with and want to have dinner with. </p>
<p>Since he’ll be going to other buildings next year, I’m hoping he’ll finally get to explore Bryant. I’d rather him do the meal plus upgrade than pay full price for dinner.</p>
<p>And again, we want him to feel free to pop in Fresh Food between classes for a banana when he’s short on time. I know it’s an expensive banana, but at least it’s a healthy choice. If he’s got only dining dollars/Bama cash to spend, it’s not going to be on a banana, I can assure you. </p>
<p>I’m leaning toward the silver, but I know H will want to do the gold. So I’m trying to get some feedback from the meal plan users on this board.</p>
<p>I personally got the 50 when I was a sophomore last year, and I didn’t even use all of them! I guess I just eat less than the normal person. This year, since I cant buy the Thrifty 20 to begin with, I’m just going without a meal plan and intend to brown bag it quite a few days, or just head back to the Bluff for a meal.</p>
<p>I’m leaning toward the silver, but I know H will want to do the gold.</p>
<p>Would buying the Gold plan be lieu of him having money for off-campus meal choices? If so, then I don’t think that’s a good idea.</p>
<p>Gold 1634…220 meals
Silver 1350…160 meals</p>
<p>The difference is about $300 per semester.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine any sophomore eating THAT many meals on campus. On weekends, especially game weekends, the kids are eating on The Strip…not in Dining Halls. I wouldn’t want my child to have to say to his pals, "no, I can’t go with you to The Strip (or wherever) to eat because all my meal money is tied to Dining Hall meals. " That would be depressing. </p>
<p>My son did not use the 50 he got each semester. He said he will do either the Grad 20 or no meal plan at all. Just his Dining Dollars. He will live off campus and does not do breakfast. But, he has chatted with Mesquite_girl24 and friends about Starbucks a couple of mornings a week, so a gift card may be in order.</p>
<p>about Starbucks a couple of mornings a week, so a gift card may be in order.</p>
<p>Unless rules have changed, the campus Starbucks doesn’t accept gift cards.</p>
<p>Montegut, if you’re concerned that your son won’t make responsible choices with money on his debit card (or wherever), then you can work out some kind of compromise with him…such as: </p>
<p>We’ll get the Silver (or Bronze) plan…and then each week, I’ll deposit XX dollars into Bama Cash for you to use at off-campus places on The Strip or on campus retail dining. If I see that you’re spending too much at vending machines, then we’ll change your meal plan and you won’t have that flexibility. He may also need a few bucks for off-campus places that don’t take Bama Cash.</p>
<p>We can’t control everything (and we shouldn’t), but we can have arrangements that give kids some choices and flexibility without giving away the store. :)</p>
<p>My friend who has the unlimited meal plan for his first two years is going down to the 160 meal plan this year.</p>
<p>Since your son will have a similar schedule this year, I’d likely say to go with the smallest meal plan that would satisfy his desire for on-campus food, but doesn’t have too many extra meals. </p>
<p>I’m with Mesquite in that I’m going to make meals in my dorm room or eat out off campus the first few days to see if I even need a meal plan. While I do eat a lot at meals, I value more the freedom to choose what I want to eat and be in better control of the ingredients I put into my food (eg it’s hard to avoid HFCS and hydrogenated oils* at the dining halls as institutional food products are more likely to contain these ingredients).</p>
<p>*I read somewhere that Bama dining uses oil with 0 grams of trans fats per serving, but FDA/USDA labeling requirements allow hydrogenated oils to be used and this claim still be valid.</p>
<p>m2ck is right that it’s a bummer when one isn’t able to go out to eat with friends very much because one is tied to a dining plan and doesn’t have the money to eat off campus.</p>
<p>The Starbucks on campus does accept gift cards, gives stars, and is supposed to give those of us with Gold Cards 10% off in lieu of the registered card benefits. The treat receipt promo should be running until October and the Starbucks on campus does participate.</p>
<p>Starbucks on campus definitely accepts gift cards. I probably spent a good 100 bucks in graduation gift card money there fish year. Brown bagging/cooking at home is a great way to control what you eat, because you know exactly what went in it! Plus its soooo much cheaper. Seriously I would prefer to eat a sandwich for 3 bucks and 10 minutes to prepare it instead of 8.50 or whatever Bama Dining charges via a meal plan (I used to have all that math worked out). And you could always make friends with people who have guest meals :)</p>
<p>The Starbucks on campus does accept gift cards,</p>
<p>Good…that is a change in policy. </p>
<p>When I first started visiting Bama’s campus, Starbucks wouldn’t accept gift cards. Never tried after that…should have…always have some in my purse!</p>
<p>No matter what the meal plan, we’re not going to limit his food spending. As I said, he won’t have a car, and I doubt he’ll visit the Strip much. He’ll have a new set of suitemates, so I don’t know what the social dynamics are going to be this year. The guys will all still be on the same floor, though, and I envision them meeting for lunch or dinner on occasion, so I don’t want him to have too few meals. While some suggest he may turn down meal invites because of the meal plan, I don’t want him to turn down dining hall invites because of a lack of meal plan. I know he can pay cash for dining hall meals, but swiping the ACT card is a lot less painful than paying the eight bucks they cost out of pocket. It’s a psychological thing, I know. I’m basically looking for whatever will give him 14 meals a week, since he will have breakfast in his room. I had suggested the 14 meal a week plan last year, and he was horrified. What, I can only eat two meals a day? I think he’ll feel better about having a 14 meal a week plan this year, knowing he’ll be having breakfast in his dorm room most days.</p>
<p>Okay, here is my take on the meal plan. Go Low, as low as you feel comfortable. Believe me not one of our students will starve but they will NOT make use of a large plan to its fullest.</p>
<p>As I see it: Unlimited meal plan=Limited options
-you will want your student to eat in the dining halls regularly<br>
or waste money.
-it gets boring eating in the same places over and over
-the food is okay and perhaps not as healthy as we would like</p>
<pre><code> Smaller meal plan(50)=Dining Options
-greater flexibility, use cash (debit) to eat on “The Strip”
-put money that you would have spent on the food plan onto a debit card
and Bam!! instant flexibility. Shop at Publix or elsewhere and enjoy food that you really like. Or eat at ANY dining venue.
-use your Dining Dollars or not (and get a refund)
</code></pre>
<p>You will be giving your student a chance to shop and cook and try other cuisines. My son doesn’t have a car on campus and he just walks everywhere. It is a short walk to Publix and/or “The Strip”. </p>
<p>They can learn a skill (cooking) and learn how to budget their weekly food money all while learning how to fend for themselves. THis will give them a real taste of living on their own and a sense of independence. </p>
<p>The social aspect of being able to go out to a restaurant with your friends and colleagues is also very important. Who wants to be tied to Lakeside, when your friends are going out for Midnight Sushi? The point I am trying to make is that more (meals) are not necessarily a better option.</p>
<p>Ask your student what he or she wants and listen to their input, after all they have to eat the food.</p>
<p>Between the 50 meal plan and $300 Dining Dollars, they will not starve. They will not use their dining plan meals wastefully and will still be able to eat sandwiches or pasta at their dorms. Give them the proper tools to cook with, and you will be surprised at how resourceful they will become.</p>
<p>Even though your student may be busy, if they have time to play video games, watch TV or sleep in, then they have time to take a ten minute walk to buy groceries and an additional five minutes to make a sandwich or an egg.</p>