'09-'10 Dining Options and Plans

In order to maintain stability for Dining Services financially and to give students the flexibility of meal plan choices and value, our new meal plans are a combination of an overhead payment and Dining Dollars. Because of the overhead payment, the residential meal plans receive a 65% discount on food at the restaurant venues.

Overhead:

The overhead payment, 65% of the total quarterly meal plan cost, contributes to operational business costs such as: salaries (staff and student), utilities, supplies, repairs, debt service, and capital expenses. The overhead allows us to budget more effectively thus passing a higher savings on to the customers.

Dining Dollars:

Dining Dollars is the amount of money directly deposited into the student's meal plan account each quarter to be used for purchasing food. The total amount of Dining Dollars is 35% of the quarterly meal plan cost.

Discounts:

Students with meal plans receive a 65% discount on food items purchased at the restaurant venues on campus and do not pay the 7.7% Washington State sales tax. Students who do not have a meal plan pay the full retail price.
****Anderson/Wahle Plan (available only for students living in these halls) does not prepay (65%) into the overhead, and therefore, pays the regular retail price at all dining locations and convenience stores, but not the sales tax.

The meal plans are on a declining Dining Dollar balance so the students can eat anytime, anywhere and anything they choose. So the number of "Meals per Week" is approximate depending on usage. Students have a wide variety of dining options throughout the day and can get an espresso drink and a breakfast pastry in the morning, or a full breakfast, get an exciting vegetarian lunch made to order at Grains and Greens in the Holmes Dining Room, a snack at the C-Store and then pizza, pasta, salads, a Buffalo Burger or any of hundreds of menu items in the Marketplace Food Court or North Village Cafe. The best way to get the most from your Dining Dollars is to eat in any of the eight different restaurant venues on campus. Students receive 65% off in all those areas as we apply most of the overhead to those areas. Students receive 25% off on purchases in the espresso bars and 10% off in the convenience stores.

Select your new meal plan carefully, think about your eating habits, your class schedule, whether you work or not, and how often you will be on campus to eat. You can change the plan you selected only during the "Add/Drop" period at the beginning of each quarter. You could change from Medium to Athletic and back to Medium to meet your individual needs during the year. Again, changes only take place at the beginning of each quarter and only during the "Add/Drop" period. Once that date passes you are committed to the plan you have chosen for the remainder of the quarter.

All money remaining on the meal plan at the end of the quarter rolls over into the following quarter; this roll over money is in addition to the new quarters Dining Dollars applied to the account. Regardless of the roll over amount, the full Dining Dollar amount of your chosen meal plan will be added at the beginning of each quarter. At the end of Spring Quarter, all money remaining on the student's meal plan is voided out and is non-refundable. This is why it is very important to monitor your meal plan balance through out the year, changing the meal plan size as needed. Again, all money remaining on the meal plan at the end of the Spring Quarter is non-refundable, voided, and can not be transferred to another account or used at the bookstore.

Dining Services Meal Plan Adjustment Procedures

Dining Services is obliged to maintain good financial health while serving the nutritional needs of students. Residence hall students are required to chose a meal plan and pay for the plan at the beginning of each quarter as stated by the 2009/2010 Room and Board Contract. A variety of meal plans have been developed with student habits in mind. Our meal plans have continuously met the needs of Central students. Our residential and dining staff makes every effort to educate students in examining their lifestyle to assist in making a proper meal plan selection. Students are encouraged to thoughtfully examine the available plans and to choose wisely.

Adding More Money

Students may add straight Dining Dollars to the Athletic and Large meal plans at any time. No overhead will be taken out of the deposit. A $20.00 deposit will be $20.00 Dining Dollars and still get the 65% discount!! These plans include adequate funds to cover food, labor and traditional overhead costs associated with our university dining operation. Dining Dollars may be added at the Connection Card Office, located in the Student Union and Recreation Center, Room 131.

Students enrolled in the Medium, Small and Anderson/Wahle Plans may make additional deposits to their Connection Card Freedom Plan (not Dining Dollars) to carry them through to the end of a particular quarter. It is advantageous to use the Connection Card Freedom Plan because you will receive 5% off the purchase of food and there is no sales tax. At the conclusion of the quarter a student should review the meal plans available and perhaps choose a higher plan the following quarter.

You can change your meal plan for the 2009/2010 academic-year only during these times:

Fall Quarter: 8 a.m. September 24th - 1 p.m. September 29th
Winter Quarter: 8 a.m. January 6th - 1 p.m. January 11th
Spring Quarter: 8 a.m. March 31st - 1 p.m. April 5th

We will not accept meal plan changes after 1 p.m. on the last day of the Add/Drop period. Meal plan changes are done in the Connection Card Office. Students must be present to provide a signature to authorize the meal plan change. Change requests via phone will not be accepted.