By: Andrea Hinkle
How does the On-Campus Meal Plan work?
You can use meal points at any on-campus dining location. Below are some important figures from https://foodservices.psu.edu/meal-plan-comparison that are helpful to understand!
COST
Level 1: $2,070/semester
Level 2: $2,399/semester
Level 3: $2,665/semester
(Amount includes base cost of $1,415 per semester)
SPENDABLE DINING DOLLARS
Level 1: $655
Level 2: $984
Level 3: $1,250
How many meals will the plan buy in the all-you-care-to-eat (AYCE) dining commons?
*Approximation is based on the average cost of lunch and dinner in the AYCE dining commons.
Level 1: 9 meals/week
Level 2: 13 meals/week
Level 3: 16 meals/week
DISCOUNTS
o 65% discount at the on-campus all-you-care-to-eat dining commons
o 65% discount on prepared items at on-campus residential retail dining locations.
o 10% discount on prepared items at on-campus retail dining locations, except for national chains like Burger King, Starbucks, etc.
My advice would be to primarily stick to the dining commons/residential retail locations. The 65% discounts will allow you to make the most of your dining dollars, esp. on all-you-care-to-eat options. You’ll be surprised by the variety of food choices offered. Check out “Guide to the Dining Commons” and “Vegan/Vegetarian and Food Allergies – Staying Healthy” to learn more!
Also, don’t worry too much about which meal plan you chose right off the bat. Just make sure to monitor it along the way so that you can go up or down as needed.
How can I monitor my meal points?
You can go to https://idcard.psu.edu/manage-accounts and click on Manage Your Accounts. Once you login, you can see your current balance on your meal plan and LionCash+. Here, you can also change your meal plan level when it nears the end of the semester. Reference the costs above to see if you can drop down a meal plan level; if so, you can get a full refund! You can also increase your meal plan level OR just add money to your account. Once you run out of money on your meal plan, your card will begin drawing from your lioncash, as long as you still have some on your account. You can continue to use your id as if you still had meal points. This way, you can finish up the year without extra money in your account (which you cannot get back).
Options at the Hub
Panda Express, Sbarro (renovated), Jamba Juice, Chick-fil-a, Burger King, McAlister’s Deli, Grate Chee, Soup & Garden, Mixed Greens, Hibachi San, Blue Burrito, Starbucks
Look up hours: https://foodservices.psu.edu/hub-dining-options-hours
Check out this site https://www.spa.psu.edu/latenight/ each week to see all of the Hub Late Night activities, including late night hours and discounts at some of these restaurants on the weekends!
The Hub gets really crowded at lunch time, especially after classes get out, so plan accordingly! For example, Panda Express is not somewhere you can stop by during your fifteen minute break between classes, as the line grows fast.
Also, you’ll often notice the Starbucks line is always really long, and although the line does go fast, there are two other Starbucks on campus! One is in the Paterno Library and the other (with only a slightly limited menu) is on the second floor of the Hub Bookstore.
***NOTE: You don’t get the same discount at the Hub, as you do at the dining halls! So, while you can use campus meal points and LionCash, eating at the Hub often can get very expensive, so try to limit yourself (ex. once a week).
Other options
Last semester, I had class from 8:30-3:30 straight on Mondays and Wednesdays, so I relied on the four Au Bon Pain locations scattered around campus at Kern Building, West Gate, Zoller Gallery, and Katz Building. But the upcoming freshman may never know of Au Bon Pain, as Panera acquired the company in November 2017 and now each of these locations are being remodeled as Panera’s for the fall 2019 semester. The Kern Building location will even offer online ordering and rapid pickup.
Also, if you’re ever up at north campus, check out Saxby’s (https://foodservices.psu.edu/saxbys), a student-run Experiential Learning Café at the beautiful Business Building.
Finally, invest in a water bottle to carry around with you everywhere. There are filtered water stations all around campus!
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