The Purdue Exponent


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Meal plans allow students dining options on campus

By Anna Herkamp
Summer Reporter

Purdue Residence Halls offer a variety of ways to eat on campus, said Sarah Johnson, Director of Food Service.

There are three basic meal plans offered in campus dining halls: 10 meals per week, 15 meals per week or 20 meals per week.

Meal plans may be used in any residence hall dining operation. Locations include Cary Quad, Owen, Tarkington, Wiley, Windsor, Meredith, Shreve, Hillenbrand or Harrison halls.

What many new students may not know is an additional option is available with the basic meal plan package.

Dining dollars are an additional amount of money available depending on which meal plan a student purchases. For the 10 meal plan, a student is allowed an extra $125 dollars each semester. For the 15 meal plan, a student is allowed an extra $175 dollars each semester. For the 20 meal plan, a student is allowed an extra $125 dollars each semester.

Dining dollars can be used at food agencies in the residence halls that are separate from the regular dining halls. These agencies include grills at Harrison Hall and Cary Quad, Mini Marts at places such as Meredith Hall, Tarkington Hall or Hawkins Grad House.

Dining halls offer two types of service, depending on the hall. All-you-care-to-eat are the halls in which students are allowed to eat all they want, but food cannot be carried out unless it's a piece of fruit or an ice cream cone. The other form of dining service is Purdue Dining Quickly, or PDQ. PDQ halls offer a carry-out option. At these locations, students can eat in the hall or carry it with them. Johnson said PDQ is valuable in order to fit the student's schedule. "If (a student) is going to miss a meal, they can swipe (their card) and take food with them. This gives the student more use of the meal plan and more options. They can use the plan even if they're not going to be on campus," she said. Dining dollars can also be used in case a student misses or uses up their meals for the week. The number of meals resets each week, but in case a student runs out of meals, they can use their dining dollars to buy an extra meal.

The difference between meal plans and dining dollars is that meal plans are renewed each week while dining dollars do not. The amount of dining dollars decreases each time the account is used at a mini mart, grill, etc. The meal plan is for use in the dining hall locations only. Dining dollars can be used for meals, but they can also be used for the additional dining options.

Breakfast is served between 6:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. Lunch is served between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Dinner is available from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.; however, the hours vary between locations.

Dining dollars are also valuable for Sunday night since dinner is not served in the halls. Dining dollars give students the option of eating at a grill or buying from a mini mart when normal dining halls aren't available.

Regular dining halls are open until 8 p.m. at night during the week. If the residence hall a student lives in isn't open, there is something open at another location. Students should check the posted weekly menus and hours of operation at www.housing.purdue.edu.

Because the dining halls are undergoing a series of renovations, Earhart dining hall with be closed for the 2001-2002 school year. The expected opening date for that hall is Jan, 2003.

In order to compensate for one less place to eat on campus during the week, the Food Service has decided to leave Meredith Hall open from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday without closing as normal dining halls do between lunch and dinner. On the weekends, Shreve Hall will be open from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Another way to pay for food as well as other services on campus is the Boiler Express debit account. In order to open a debit account, students should go to the card services office in the Union next to the Boiler Copy Maker. At the office, students fill out an application on which they put their identification information and the amount they wish to deposit. Minimum deposit amount is $25.

Boiler Express may be used at any Union restaurant, where meal plans won't be accepted. The same card ID card is used for the Boiler Express account as the meal plan.

In addition to eating, students can use the account at a variety of food and other locations on campus, said Kris Halter, ID specialist at Card Service office. They can use it to buy more meals at the dining halls, grills and mini marts. The account can be used for laundry in the residence halls so students don't have to worry about having enough quarters, nickels and dimes, said Johnson. There is also a number of vending machines around campus that accept money via a Boiler Express account. The account may also be used at the Stewart Service Center and a variety of places in the Union. "Each time a transaction is made, the amount decreases, said Johnson. "You can even leave it over the summer and it will be there in the fall. You don't have to worry about carrying cash," she said.

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