Meal Plan Options

Students living with UHDS can use their dining dollars at any of the 18 restaurants, cafés or stores operated by UHDS. Dining Dollars work like a debit card on your OSU ID Card at the beginning of each term. You use your UHDS Dining Dollar points to pay for what you choose to eat, when you choose to eat it.

Choosing Your UHDS Dining Plan

Selecting a dining plan that matches your lifestyle and eating preferences is important. Your UHDS Dining Dollars roll over from term to term, but expire at the end of Spring Term or upon cancellation of your UHDS contract. Students using their UHDS Dining Dollars receive a 15% discount off the cash price at all UHDS-managed facilities. If you are spending more or less then your budgeted UHDS Dining Dollars, you can change your dining plan by completing a Dining Plan Change Request available at MyUHDS.

Residence hall residents moving in during Fall term are also automatically enrolled in the Orange Rewards program with a $100 deposit in their Orange Rewards account. This provides a 10% discount at all 30 campus eateries and convenience stores. Students can always add addtional money to Orange Rewards via their MyCard Account so they can also easily use their ID in the non-UHDS managed facilities.

 

Estimated UHDS Dining Plans 2013-14

Dining Plan UHDS Dining Dollars 
Per Year*		 UHDS Dining Dollars 
Per Term*
Ultimate $3,339 $1,113
Premium $2,685 $895
Preferred $1,968 $656
Basic $1,251 $417

* Your UHDS Dining Dollars give you the flexibility to eat at any of 16 dining venues in the following locations including: Southside Station @ Arnold, International Living-Learning Center, Marketplace West, McNary Central Dining and Bing's Café. Residential students moving in during Fall term are automatically enrolled in the Orange Rewards program with a $100 deposit to their Orange Rewards account. Orange Rewards can be used at all dining locations across the OSU campus.

Overview of UHDS Dining Plan 2012-13

Dining Plan UHDS Dining Dollars
Per Year*		 UHDS Dining Dollars
Per Term*
Ultimate $3,333 $1,111
Premium $2,541 $847
Preferred $1,749 $583
Basic $792 $264

* Your UHDS Dining Dollars give you the flexibility to eat at any of 16 dining venues in the following locations including: Southside Station @ Arnold, International Living-Learning Center, Marketplace West, McNary Central Dining and Bing's Café. Residential students moving in during Fall term are automatically enrolled in the Orange Rewards program with a $100 deposit to their Orange Rewards account. Orange Rewards can be used at all dining locations across the OSU campus.

Money Matters

Dining Options for All OSU Students, Staff, and Faculty

Orange Rewards

Campus Visitors

Community members and visitors are invited to join us at our dining locations on campus! Whether you're here visiting your student or attending a university sporting event, we are open and ready to serve you!

Group Options and Conferences

Meals are an important component to any conference or event. Here at Oregon State University we are proud of our award winning culinary team who blend the practical concerns of food safety and nutrition with the esthetic demand for quality and variety in all of our meals.

Vegan, Vegetarian and Dietary Needs

Dining Plans

See the plan amounts. Below, see some example meals from the 2012-13 plan amounts.

ULTIMATE Plan

The ULTIMATE Plan typically provides sufficient funds for the student who prefers to eat the majority of their meals in UHDS facilities. Residence hall students who choose the ULTIMATE Plan usually dine at UHDS facilities five or six days a week.

The ULTIMATE Plan provides:

  • $1089 per term or $3267 per year equals $99 in average weekly spending.
  • 17-19 meals at UHDS restaurants each week, if each meal averages $5.50.

The ULTIMATE Student:

  • Purchases milk, brewed coffee, juice, or soda with most on-campus meals each week.
  • Gets a dessert, snack, specialty drink, espresso, or smoothie, once a day on campus most days of the week.
  • Eats some meals at other campus dining locations or off campus locations each week, usually on the weekends.

PREMIUM Plan

The PREMIUM Plan typically provides ample funds for the student who prefers to eat the majority of their meals in UHDS facilities. Residence hall students who choose the PREMIUM Plan usually dine at UHDS facilities four or five days a week.

The PREMIUM Plan provides:

  • $847 per term or $2541 per year equals $77 in average weekly spending.
  • 13-15 meals at UHDS restaurants each week, if each meal averages $5.50.

The PREMIUM Student:

  • Purchases milk, brewed coffee, juice, or soda with most on-campus meals each week.
  • Occasionally gets a dessert, snack, specialty drink, espresso, or smoothie in UHDS facilities.
  • Eats about 5-10 meals at other campus dining locations or off campus locations each week.
  • Stocks his/her room with snacks and drinks bought off campus at the grocery store.

PREFERRED Plan

Residence Hall students who choose the PREFERRED Plan are usually light eaters, prefer to eat off campus for many of their meals, or have restricted diets that require them to eat many meals off campus or in their room. The PREFERRED Plan typically provides ample funds for the student who prefers to eat about half of their meals in UHDS facilities. Residence hall students who choose the PREFERRED Plan usually dine at UHDS facilities three to five days a week.

The PREFERRED Plan provides:

  • $594 per term or $1782 per year equals $54 average weekly spending.
  • 9-11 meals at UHDS restaurants each week, if each meal averages $5.50.

The PREFERRED Student:

  • Purchases milk, brewed coffee, juice, or soda with most on-campus meals each week.
  • Occasionally gets a dessert, snack, specialty drink, espresso, or smoothie in UHDS facilities.
  • Eats about half of their meals at other campus dining locations or off campus locations each week.
  • Stocks his/her room with snacks and drinks bought off campus at the grocery store.

BASIC Plan

Residence Hall students who choose the BASIC Plan prefer to eat off campus or at other campus restaurants for many of their meals. The BASIC student may have restricted diets that require them to eat many meals off campus or in their room. Residence hall students who choose the BASIC Plan usually dine at UHDS facilities two to four times a week.

The BASIC Plan provides:

  • $187 per term or $561 per year equals $17 average weekly spending.
  • 2-4 meals at UHDS restaurants each week, if each meal averages $5.50.

The BASIC Student:

  • Eats most meals off campus but prefers the convenience of having a Meal Plan which allows them to eat in any of the residential dining areas.
  • Frequently adds money to their Orange Rewards account because most of their meals are consumed in other campus dining locations.
  • The BASIC student may also eat many meals off campus using cash or their debit/credit card.

To eat at other campus dining locations, the BASIC student is encouraged to add money to their Orange Rewards account via mycard.oregonstate.edu. The average amount spent during the last few years has been about $250 per year.

Dining: A Day in the Life of a Residence Hall Student

Each student has unique needs and eating habits, so it is important to choose a level that is most appropriate to the way you really eat. Residents may choose one of the four (4) dining levels: Ultimate Plan, Premium Plan, Preferred Plan and the newly added Basic Plan. 

Ultimate Plan

Provides $1089 per term in Dining Dollars. This plan is for students who burn a lot of calories during the day and plan to eat on campus about 17-19 meals per week. A typical dining day looks something like this:

7:30am  -  Full Breakfast at Boardwalk Café
noon  -  Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Strawberry Lemonade at Calabaloo's™
6:00pm  -  Sushi and Tempura at Arnold Bistro
9:00pm    Snack Run at Cascadia Market

Premium Plan

Provides $847 per term in Dining Dollars. This plan is for students who eat most of their meals on campus during the week. A typical dining day looks something like this:

8:30am  -  Juice, fruit and cereal for breakfast at Arnold Bistro
noon  -  Sandwich, small salad and milk at Clubhouse Deli
5:30pm  -  Beef brisket, mashed sweet potatoes, corn on the cob at Cooper's Creek BBQ

Preferred Plan

Provides $594 per term in Dining Dollars. This plan is for students who are light eaters and normally eat their weekend meals off-campus. A typical day looks something like this:

9:00am  -  Juice and cereal at Boardwalk Café
noon  -  Soft Taco, beans and rice at Serrano Grill™
5:30pm  -  Chicken Parmesan Dinner at Casa Della Pasta

Basic Plan

Provides $187 per term in Dining Dollars. This plan is for students who rarely eat on campus. Due to work, academic internships or other commitments they may find that they are rarely on campus during meal times. This plan is designed for those students and is sufficient to purchase about 2 to 4 meals per week.

Halal, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free options are available as well.

UHDS Dining Dollars can only be used in the UHDS-managed facilities. Students using their UHDS Dining Dollars receive a 15% discount off the cash price at all UHDS-managed facilities. Residence hall residents moving on campus in the Fall are also automatically enrolled in the Orange Rewards program with a $100 deposit in their Orange Rewards account. This provides a 10% discount at all 30 campus restaurants and stores. Students can always add addtional money to Orange Rewards via their MyCard Account so they can also easily use their ID in the non-UHDS managed facilities.

Please Note:
With any of the dining levels it is important to track your balance throughout the term since there is no pre-set number of meals.

Money Matters

Budgeting Your Dollars

The dining plan provided by University Housing and Dining Services can be compared to a grocery budget. If used wisely, the plan will provide enough credit to last an entire term.

This budget grid is intended to be used as a budgeting tool only. (It is not a guarantee of any refund due to you if you cancel during the term.)

Dining Plan Budget Chart 2012-13
Week
Ultimate
Premium
Preferred
Basic
 
$ Left in Plan
$ Left in Plan
$ Left in Plan
$ Left in Plan
1
1,111
847
583
264
2
1010
770
530
240
3
909
693
477
216
4
808
616
424
192
5
707
539
371
168
6
606
462
318
144
7
505
385
265
120
8
404
308
212
96
9
303
231
159
72
10
202
154
106
48
11
101
77
53
24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the beginning of a given week, you would want to have around the dollar value (corresponding to your dining plan) remaining on your ID card if you want the dining balance to last the entire term.

For example, if you purchased the ULTIMATE Plan, you should have about $693 left on your plan at the beginning of Week 5. If you purchased the PREFERRED Plan, you should have about $378 left on your plan at the beginning of Week 5.

If you find that you have spent over your budget, you may go to MyUHDS and switch to a larger dining plan. You may add money to your Orange Rewards plan on the MyCard site or visit the ID center in person (located in B094 Kerr Administration Building) and pay using cash, check, VISA, or MasterCard.

If you find you are under budget, you may visit MyUHDS and switch to a lower dining plan.

A 15% discount is given with the Ultimate, Premium, Preferred, and the newly added Basic dining plans when food is purchased at any UHDS Restaurant. (Arnold Bistro, Markeplace West, McNary Dining, Cascadia Market, Peet's Coffee and Tea, and Bing's Cafe).

Checking Dining & Rewards Balance

Residence Hall Students

Students living in the residence halls have access to their UHDS Dining Dollar and Orange Rewards balances at a click of a button. Simply log in to MyCard site with your ONID ID and view your balances at any time.

MyCard allows you to manage your Orange Rewards account online. You may view your Orange Rewards account; view past Orange Rewards transactions; add money to your Orange Rewards account: set up, update and manage Orange Rewards contributors other than yourself; and deactivate or reactivate your lost OSU ID card.

Adding Orange Rewards

Students who wish to add money to their Orange Rewards account can do so at the OSU ID Center in B094 Kerr or through the MyCard site. You will need to be prepared to pay for the requested addition with cash, check, Visa, or MasterCard.

The requested amount of money will be added to your Orange Rewards account. The Orange Rewards account can be used in all campus dining locations. It will carry over from term to term and year to year as long as you are an OSU student.

Changing Meal Plans

Occasionally students find that the dining plan they currently have is either too big or too small to meet their dining needs. The UHDS contract allows students to change their dining plan to better accommodate their needs. Some of the specific parameters include:

  • Dining Plan changes may be requested anytime until May 31st via the online portal MyUHDS by using your ONID ID to log in.
  • Requests will be processed for the term the form is submitted online. Please allow two business days for processing.
  • Plan changes will be retroactive to the beginning of the current term. Each term ends the Friday of Finals Week.
  • Requests to lower a plan will not be processed if the plan balance is too small to accommodate the requested change.
  • The resident's OSU Account will be adjusted by the same amount as the dining plan card adjustment.
  • UHDS Dining Dollars transfer from term to term, but must be used by the end of Spring Term.

If a resident wants to lower their dining plan, they need to have a remaining card balance bigger than the amount to be deducted.

    Change FROM
    Change TO
    Amount to be deducted from ID Card
    Ultimate Premium
    $264.00
    Ultimate Preferred
    $528.00
    Ultimate Basic
    $847.00
    Premium Preferred
    $264.00
    Premium Basic
    $583.00
    Preferred Basic
    $319.00

If a resident wants to raise their dining plan, these are the amounts they will see added to their card and to their OSU Student Account with the change.

    Change FROM
    Change TO
    Amount to be added to ID Card
    Basic Preferred
    $319.00
    Basic Premium
    $583.00
    Basic Ultimate
    $847.00
    Preferred Premium
    $264.00
    Preferred Ultimate
    $528.00
    Premium Ultimate
    $264.00

Orange Rewards for All OSU Students, Staff, and Faculty

Join the Orange Rewards program and your OSU ID card will give you a 10% discount at all 28 campus restaurants, coffee shops, and markets.  You will also receive access to members-only opportunities that provide you exclusive discounts and other special offers. On-campus residents will automatically have $100 of Orange Rewards in addition to their UHDS Dining Plan.

The MyCard website allows you to manage your Orange Rewards account online. You may view your Orange Rewards balance, view past Orange Rewards transactions, and add money to your Orange Rewards account. You can also set and manage Orange Rewards contributors or "donors" other than yourself for your convinience.