Meal Plans

The most profitable part of a meal plan is the part you don't use.  Missed meals and unspent dining dollars represent food that was paid for, but may never actually have had to be produced.  While the food service company or university dining department cannot know in advance exactly how many students are going to redeem their meals on any given day, the amount of food that companies or universities prepare is based on the assumption that students are going to miss meals.

How this benefit is divided up is something that has been worked out jointly between the contractor and your school, and it's in your interest to find out exactly how it works. With the right tools, you can make your meal plan options accountable and affordable.

 Some aspects of the process are part of university policy:

• If dining plans are mandatory, what is the minimum students have to pay per semester? Are there minimum requirements for dining dollars as well?
• Is there any way for students with financial or dietary restrictions to opt out of a meal plan?
• What restrictions exist on where and when you can use your meals?
• Are refunds issued for unused meals or unused dollars on declining balance account?

Other aspects are written into the contract:

• Does the contractor or university have to account for the number of meals it serves? Does it get paid as though every student enrolled in the meal plan ate every meal to which they were entitled?
• Where do your unspent dining dollars end up?

Still others may require some additional investigation:

• What percentage of meals that have been paid for actually get eaten? This number--the participation rate--should be known to both the contractor and your administrators.
• How do the prices of the items you can buy with your dining dollars compare to prices at regular stores nearby?
• Are the full ranges of meal options available when students are looking for them, or do scheduling limitations contribute to missed-meal percentages?
• What factors might contribute to students failing to spend all their dining dollars?
• Have there been notable changes in prices and participation rates over time?