<p>I'd like to get some more information about the dining services & meal plans at Maryland beyond what I've seen on UMD's website. </p>
<p>Is the food good, bad, so-so? Are the food prices reasonable? Are there enough locations - and how far do most students have to walk to get to a dining hall? I was reading about the focus dates and point balancing, which I understand is to prevent students from hoarding their points until the end of the semester. </p>
<p>Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>At first blush (from a mom's point of view), the dining services offer a wide variety of decent food. When I think of our food service "back in MY day", the diners are amazing. However.....From a student's point of view(which is what counts!!!).... the food gets monotonous quickly. D had a few focus dates this year where she took a friend to Adele's (the restaurant at the Stamp) to splurge and use up the rest of the points....she reports that the lounges always have plates of cookies, whole pies, etc. at focus date times. </p>
<p>For next year, she will do one of the all-campus plans (not open to first year students), when she can use the $$ at more of the places at the Stamp (as well as at the diners). She stocks up on fruit and PBJ at the co-op....and she and her friends have discovered all the places that deliver food to the dorms!</p>
<p>The food plans that are offered are good to start out with freshman year, until your S/D figures out their (and their friends') preferences.</p>
<p>Oregonianmom, food prices are very high considering what you're getting. However, you pay a lot for the meal plan so you need high prices in order to spend it all! Most students find a good balance between buying food for friends when they haven't spent as much, and asking friends to buy them food when they need to. I remember at the end of my freshman year, I bought three whole pizzas for my friends and two cakes to bring home (I think they're still in the freezer!).</p>
<p>There are two main dining halls on campus, one on North Campus and one on South Campus. The furthest you'd have to walk to a dining hall is about 5 minutes. They're very well-located. There's also a convenience store on North and South campus (about a 10-minute walk maximum) and the Union has a convenience store as well as the food court (15-minute walk maximum from some of the further South Campus residences).</p>