1. Where is the Dining Services office located?
The Dining Services office is located in Crumley Hall #132. It's open Monday to Friday from 8:00am–5:00pm. Our office number is 940-565-2462.2. How do I use my meal plan?
Your meal plan is loaded on your Student ID card, which will be swiped at the register at any of our Cafeterias or Retail locations. If you are paying with FLEX (see question #28 below) or Declining Balance (question #31), you must notify the cashier.3. Where can I get a Student ID card?
ID cards are issued by UNT ID Systems in the Eagle Student Services Center (ESSC) #105. It takes at least 1 hour for new ID information to update across all UNT systems. If you plan to use your new ID immediately after it is issued, please contact us to make sure your meal plan is transferred to your new ID.
4. How do I buy a meal plan online?
Click on the GET A MEAL PLAN NOW! button at the top of the web page. Log in to your eDining Account using your EUID and password and follow the prompts to complete payment for the selected meal plan. When ordering online expect 4 or more hours before the meal plan can be added to your card Monday through Friday. The dining office is closed during the weekend, so if ordered Friday night through Sunday night, it could be as long as 24 to 72 hours.
5. How much does one meal cost?
The door prices for Fall 2018/Spring 2019 at all the cafeterias for one meal is $7.95, for Bruce, Kerr, Mean Greens, and Champs. West Cafeteria is $5.50. They accept debit/credit cards. Meal prices at the Retail Food Shops vary.
6. Can I take food out of a cafeteria?
No. Meals are dine-in only and cannot be carried out.
7. Can I let my friends use my meal card?
No. The plans are fixed for individual use. If students share, then we will have to increase the prices.
8. What cafeterias are open on the weekends?
Bruce Cafeteria is open on weekends during the summer sessions. Kerr is open Saturday-Sunday during the Fall and Spring semesters.
9. I have a lot of classes at Discovery Park. Will my meal plan work there?
10. How many weeks are in a semester?
17 weeks.12. What meal plan options are available to freshmen?
Freshmen living on campus must choose either a 5-Day (Monday-Friday) or 7-Day meal plan. Freshmen living off campus may sign up for a Resident plan or they may select one of the Commuter meal plan options. All Resident meal plans are by semester and do not carry over. Most Commuter plans roll over semester to semester.
13. How can resident freshmen choose or change their meal plan?
Typically, freshmen select a meal plan when they sign up for housing.
If you need to make changes to your meal plan before the start of the semester, you may do so by logging into your account on ehousing.unt.edu, clicking "View my Applications" from the left column, selecting your application number, and editing your meal plan preference. If you have any questions, please send an email to Housing at housinginfo@unt.edu or call them at 940-565-2610.
If you need to make changes to your meal plan after the first day of move-in, you must come into the Dining Services office (Crumley Hall #132) to fill out a meal plan change form.
Meal plan changes may not be initiated over the phone.
Resident freshmen and students in mandatory Halls (Crumley, Bruce, West, Victory, Maple, Clark, Rawlins, McConnell, Traditions, and Kerr) must finalize any changes to their meal plan before the second Friday after the first day of move-in. Changes to higher meal plans may be made at any time.
14. Are upperclassmen/commuters required to have a meal plan?
Upperclassmen living in the following resident halls are required to have a residential dining plan: Bruce, Clark, Crumley, Kerr, Maple, McConnell, Traditions, Victory, Rawlins and West.
Upperclassmen living in the following resident halls are not required to have a residential dining plan: College Inn, Honors, Legends, Mozart, or Santa Fe.
Commuters or upperclassmen living in Greek housing or an apartment are not required to have a residential dining plan
15. How can upperclassmen/commuters choose or change their meal plan?
Upperclassmen who live in meal plan-required dorms will have chosen a 5-Day (Mon.-Fri.) or 7-Day meal plan. Those who live in meal plan-exempt dorms and wish to take advantage of a resident meal plan may choose to add their meal plan cost to their housing bill by visiting the Dining Services office.
Commuters and upperclassmen who wish to purchase a Commuter meal plan must purchase it separately either online or in the Dining Services office. Commuter meal plans must be paid in full at the time of purchase. If you plan on using financial aid to pay for your meal plan, please refer to question #35. Commuter meal plans are by semester only and do not carry over. * Exception - Commuter 80, 120 and 160 do carry over from semester to semester.
You may change or cancel your Commuter meal plan at any time by coming to the Dining Services office and filling out a meal plan change form.
You may not purchase or change a Commuter or Resident meal plan over the phone.
16. What meal plan options are available to upperclassmen/commuters?
Commuters and upperclassmen living in meal-plan-exempt dorms, Greek housing, or an apartment may select any meal plan from the Commuter meal plans or the Resident dining plans.
Upperclassmen living in meal-plan-required dorms must have a 5-Day (Mon.-Fri.) or 7-Day meal plan.17. What is the difference between the Fall 2018/Spring 2019 5-Day and 7-Day Residential dining plans?
Residential meal plans allow access to our five dining halls and provide unlimited meals. The 5-Day plan provides unlimited cafeteria service Monday to Friday with FLEX for dining at Retail shops or purchasing additional cafeteria meals. The 7-Day plan provides unlimited cafeteria service 7 days a week with greater FLEX. Both plans offer Basic, Value, and Super options.
18. What is the difference between a Super, Value and a Basic Residential meal plan?
The only difference between a Super, Value and a Basic meal plan is the amount of FLEX assigned to each meal plan.
5-Day Basic = $90 FLEX19. What is the Commuter Weekday plan?
5-Day Value = $225 FLEX
5-Day Super = $525 FLEX
7-Day Basic = $240 FLEX
7-Day Value = $400 FLEX
7-Day Super = $600 FLEX
The Commuter Weekday works the same way as the 5-Day Residential meal plan. It gives you unlimited cafeteria meals Monday to Friday. However, these Commuter options do not include FLEX and are for one semester only.
20. What is the Commuter Any 10?
This meal plan gives you 10 meals per week (Sun-Sat) to use at your convenience. However, you only get 10 meals each week; meaning, the meal plan resets back to 10 meals each Sunday and any unused meals from the previous week will not carry over. This meal plan is for 1 semester only.
This meal plan gives you 8 meals per week (Sun-Sat) to use at your convenience. However, you only get 8 meals each week; meaning, the meal plan resets back to 8 meals each Sunday and any unused meals from the previous week will not carry over. This meal plan is for 1 semester only.
This meal plan gives you 1 meal per day Mon-Fri. Any unused meal will not carry over to the next day. This meal plan is for 1 semester only.
The numbers for each plan correspond to the number of entrances you will receive into any of the five cafeterias located on the UNT campus. Cafeterias have an all-you-care-to-eat dining policy. These meal plans carry over from semester to semester and can be refunded at any time. Refund requests must be made in person at the Dining Services Office located in Crumley Hall #132. The numbers for each plan correspond to the number of entrances you will receive into any of the five cafeterias located on the UNT campus. Cafeterias have an all-you-care-to-eat dining policy. These meal plans carry over from semester to semester and can be refunded at any time. Refund requests must be made in person at the Dining Services Office located in Crumley Hall #132.
24. What is an Advantage meal plan?
The plans are designed for students who know they will eat the majority of their meals in UNT's Retail Shops. Advantage meal plans are similar to the traditional FLEX. Students that purchase these plans have a debit allowance that may be used throughout the semester at any UNT Dining Services location during business hours. The balance does not carry from semester to semester.
A second benefit of this plan, is that each plan has built in bonus dollars:
However, you’ll want to remember that with this plan you will be paying dining hall cafeteria door prices of $7.95 per entry. Another caveat is that if you do not use up all of your FLEX at the end of the semester, you will lose them and not be able to get a refund.
25. What is an Apartment Combo Plan?
These plans provide a fixed number of cafeteria meals and Declining Balance (Question #31). They’re great for commuters who want to take advantage of reduced cafeteria meal prices while still enjoying our retail food shops. Besides being incredibly versatile, the plans are risk-free: they roll over from semester to semester and are refundable at any time.
26. Where can I use my meal plan?
Meal plans provide access to the following five cafeterias: Kerr, Maple, Bruce, West, Champs.27. Can I use my meal plan for a guest?
Commuter meal plans may be used to bring in a guest, with the exception of Commuter Weekday and the 1-A-Day plans. Also, students may not hand their ID to someone else. Students with 5-Day or 7-Day meal plans can use their FLEX to treat a guest, but not the unlimited meal plan portion.
FLEX can be used in any of the cafeterias and retail food shop locations on campus.
Any unused FLEX expires on the last day of finals of each semester and is non-refundable, even if a student cancels their meal plan with FLEX remaining.
30. What happens if I run out of FLEX?
After the initial FLEX is depleted, you may add Declining Balance to your ID, which works the same way as FLEX with a few key differences:
31. What is Declining Balance?
Declining Balance is a fixed amount of money added to a student’s ID card that functions like a debit card—each time you make a purchase, the cost is deducted from the balance on your card. Declining balance is a dollar-for-dollar exchange; if you purchase $100.00 in Declining Balance, you will have $100 in Declining Balance loaded onto your student ID. Since Declining Balance is a dollar-for-dollar option, students will pay sales tax at the register for each food item or cafeteria entry purchase. However, no sales tax is charged at the time of the meal plan purchase.
Declining Balance can be purchased on its own by Commuters and by upperclassmen living in meal-plan-exempt residence halls, or by students who run out of FLEX. Like FLEX, the money can be used in any of the dining halls and the food retail locations on campus. However, unlike FLEX, Declining Balance does roll over from semester to semester and can be refunded at any time by requesting a refund in the Dining Services Office located in Crumley Hall #132.
32. How much money can I add to a Declining Balance?
Declining Balance can be ordered online in increments of $100, $200, $300, $400, or $500.
Custom amounts ($25 minimum) may be set up in the Dining Services office.
33. Where can I spend my FLEX or Declining Balance on campus?
Most students use these currencies at our retail locations on campus, but you may choose to spend your Declining Balance at the cafeterias.
34. How can I pay for a meal plan?
Meal plans can be purchased online or in the Dining Services office.
We accept cash, checks, and all major credit cards for office purchases.
35. Can I use financial aid to pay for a meal plan?
Students can purchase voluntary meal plans (Commuter or Residential meal plans not mandated by Housing) by coming to the Dining Services office and providing documentation of their financial aid awards, as well as completing a meal plan agreement form. To provide the necessary documentation, login to your my.unt.edu account, select “Financial Aid” from the tab on the left of the screen, and then select “My Award Information.” Select the current year and print out the document that is retrieved. It should show the “Offered”, “Accepted” and “Disbursed” amounts for all Awards.
Providing this documentation and completing the agreement form will enable you to begin using the meal plan immediately but will defer your payment until the 2nd Friday in October (Fall semester) or the 2nd Friday in March (Spring semester). Dining Services CANNOT link directly to your student financial account to withdrawal funds. Students who complete a financial aid deferment are personally responsible (financial aid will not automatically cover meal plan payments) for coming into the Dining Services office and completing the payment by the due date. If payment is not completed by the due date the meal plan will be canceled and a hold will be placed on their student account.
36. What is the installment plan?
The installment plan is an option only available for voluntary 5-Day and 7-Day meal plans purchased in the Dining Services office. It allows you to split the cost of the meal plan into two payments.
The first payment is $1,000 and is due immediately. The second payment is due on the 2nd Friday of March (for a spring semester purchase) or on the 2nd Friday of October (for a fall semester purchase).
If you do not make your second payment by the due date, your meal plan will be cancelled and hold will be placed on your student account.
37. What if my student is on a special diet?
In addition to providing nutritional information on our website, all five of our dining halls serve from a diverse catalogue of over 4,000 menu items and recipes, covering a wide range of dietary needs. For those with more serious dietary concerns we recommend visiting a dietitian (The UNT Health Center has a dietitian on staff) or specialist for more detailed advice.
If you have a medical condition requiring a special diet, you may apply for a Medical Meal Plan Conversion. The conversion process must be completed by the 2nd Friday of the semester.
38. What kind of food is served in the dining halls?
Our dining halls serve a wide variety of healthy, locally-sourced, made-from-scratch dishes, and our cafeteria managers work hard to create new and exciting menus each week. In addition to our three traditional cafeterias, which offer a constantly rotating selection of entrees, sides, salads, and desserts, we also operate two specialty cafeterias: Mean Greens at Maple—our all vegan dining hall, and West at West Hall—our homestyle/Creole option.
39. What if I have a medical condition?
Each case will be evaluated independently by our executive committee to determine what options best serve a students particular needs. Read more here.
47. I live in Maple and I am not vegan. Where will I eat?
You can still eat at Maple, many non-vegans do. There are also other dining halls at Bruce, Kerr, West and Champs.
50. How much would it cost to eat at a dining hall per visit without a meal plan (MP)?
2018/2019 | Door price w/o MP | Door Price w/o MP | |
Breakfast | $7.95 (Bruce, Kerr, Maple and Victory) | $5.50 (West) | |
Lunch | $7.95 (Bruce, Kerr, Maple and Victory) | $5.50 (West) | |
Dinner | $7.95 (Bruce, Kerr, Maple and Victory) | $5.50 (West) |
Yes, subject to Dining Services policy, the unused portion of your meal plan may be reimbursed. To initiate a refund, please visit the Dining Services Office located in Crumley Hall #132.