Meal Plans & Dining Services

Services

FAQs

Bon Appetit is our foodservice management company.  We have chosen them for a number of reasons:

• They have been successful at keeping the cost of our meal plans low
• They have been responsive to the needs and desires of our students
• They have a great management staff that supports who we are, our mission, and our dining philosophy exceptionally well.
• They have high employee performance standards, as well as strong safety and cleanliness standards
• Their standard for food quality is tops in the industry!

Our meal plans are different than the typical college meal plans.  They are entirely a la carte, declining balance plans.  With this type of system, we are able to give our students a lot of flexibility in how they use their plan. 

What this means is that all food items in all of our locations are priced individually.  Students go into any of our three locations, choose their items, and take the items to the cashier.  The cashier will total their items and swipe the student’s ID card to access their dining funds.  That total comes off their balance, just like a debit card.  Students can track their balance by asking the cashier or accessing their account online.

While this type of system gives students flexibility, it also requires planning.  Much like planning a grocery budget when you get out of school, in order to make the most of your meal plan, you need to plan how you will make the best use of your plan. How you spend it is up to you.

A first year residential student will have a plan that is $1546 in dining funds for the semester. Most students are on campus about 90 days during a semester. That gives them right around $17/day to spend. For most students, that will buy about two meals.

Another way to think about it is that a semester is 16 weeks. That gives you about $97 per week to spend. If you want 10 meals per week, you can spend $9.70 per meal.  If you want $12 meals, you can spend just over $8.00 per meal. 

A transfer residential student is assigned a plan with $1096 in dining funds per semester. A typical student is on campus approximately 90 days during the semester. That would give the student approximately $12 per day to spend, which is one small meal and one larger meal for most students. 

Or, if you consider that a semester is 16 weeks, that would give the student $68.50 per week to spend. That could be 8 meals at about $8.50 per meal.

A first year commuter student is assigned a plan with $266 in dining funds for the semester. The semester is 16 weeks. That gives them about $16-$17 to spend each week, which is a couple of meals for most students.

A transfer commuter student is assigned a plan with $241 in dining funds for the semester. The semester is 16 weeks. That gives them about $15 to spend each week, which is a couple of meals for most students.

The required plans won’t necessarily meet all of a student’s needs, so if you want, you can add funds in increments of $100 at any time during the semester, using the GET FUNDS program.

If you have leftover funds from Fall, they will carry over to Spring, and if you take summer classes, to Summer. However, they will not carry forward to the next school year. 

No, you don’t need to worry about signing up for a plan. All incoming students are assigned to their required plan according to their credits and housing status.

Note: On-Campus PSEO students are the exception to that. We will send an email to all PSEO students offering an option to sign up for their own meal plan.

Bon Appetit is able to accommodate most medical dietary needs.  We have an extensive made without gluten-containing ingredients program and the ability to work with other food allergies and restrictions. 

To initiate conversation and start the process to determine the best way to meet your needs, please contact Jane Goedeke, Director at jegoedeke@unwsp.edu. 

PSEO students are not required to purchase a meal plan. However, depending on how often you will be on-campus, you may benefit from a plan.

A starter plan for PSEO students is $125/semester, which includes $100 in dining funds and a $25 dining fee. When you are on a plan, you receive a 20% discount off the cash prices and do not have to pay sales tax. Additional funds can be added during the semester without paying any additional fee.

We will send an email to PSEO students toward the end of the summer that they can respond to regarding signing up for a plan.