Dining for Residents

Yes, all food purchases are made a la carte, giving students the flexibility to eat what they want, when they want it, including the ability to take food to-go. Student feedback has shown us that this model is strongly preferred over the all-you-can-eat options seen at many other institutions.

Students should base their selection on their eating habits and how many meals they anticipate having on campus per week. Students may consider choosing one of the higher tiers if they expect to eat on-campus multiple times per day, plan to stay on-campus over most weekends, tend to eat larger meals, or often spend additional money on late night snacks, coffee, groceries, etc.

Selection of meal plans opens in February. Students will have the option to change their meal plan tier up or down until September 14, if they find that they are spending more or less than they expected. (New spring semester residents will have until early-February to make changes.)

Yes, students living in University Residence Halls receive discounted residential pricing on all food in all University Housing locations when using their Resident Food Account/Wiscard for payment.

The Resident Food Account can be used to purchase food, beverages, and grocery items in any University Housing or Wisconsin Union location on campus. It cannot be used for books, laundry, printing, clothing, events, tech supplies, etc. Those purchases can be made through the separate Wiscard account.

All meal plan tiers include discounted resident pricing on food in all University Housing locations. With the Tier 2 plan, residents also get $100 bonus dining dollars and five free Bean & Creamery beverages per semester. With the Tier 3 plan, residents get $200 bonus dining dollars, ten free Bean & Creamery beverages per semester, unlimited free fountain drinks, and a 20% discount on care packages.

$1,400 is the baseline for an average of nine meals per week based on student meal choices, which gives flexibility to students who may not dine on campus every day or who travel home on a regular basis, while still encouraging good eating habits. The number of meals required at Big Ten and UW System schools was evaluated for comparison, as well as typical resident food expenditures. The plan also factors in typical spending on beverages, groceries, and snacks at campus locations outside of meals.

Students and parents can easily add money to the account at any time through the Wiscard website or by visiting an in-person deposit location at Union South, Slichter Hall, or the Gordon Dining & Event Center.

UW-Madison offers the lowest-cost room and board plan in the Big Ten and is the only school in the Big Ten to maintain a purely a la carte program. All Big Ten and UW System schools have required meal plans for on-campus residents ranging from $2480 to $6200 ($3255 to $6200 in the Big Ten).

Payments for the Resident Food Account are divided up evenly among the four quarterly bills from University Housing for room and board. For a student on the Tier 1 plan, these food payments would equal $350 per quarterly bill.

With our meal plans, the money for food purchases is included in the quarterly room and board bills, which can be paid with financial aid. For residents paying with financial aid, the money for food will still be loaded on their Resident Food Account in advance before the start of the semester.

Funds are divided up between the two semesters, with half being deposited into the Resident Food Account before the fall semester and the other half before the spring semester. For a student on the Tier 1 plan, they would receive $700 in August and $700 in January.

University Housing is a self-funded, not-for-profit operation at UW-Madison. Revenue from food sales goes towards improving the quality of our services and facilities, staff training, wages, ingredients, keeping prices down, and ensuring that our menus and food offerings are inclusive to all students.

Students will have the ability to carry over unused meal plan funds on their Resident Food Account to the next academic year. These funds will remain available for on-campus dining until a student graduates or officially separates from UW-Madison.

The estimated number of meals a student gets with each meal plan tier is based on a $5/meal average at discounted resident prices. In many cases, residents can get a great meal for even less than $5:

• Made-to-order burrito and 16 oz beverage: $4.41
• Sandwich, chips, and 16 oz beverage: $4.30
• Island stew w/rice and 16 oz beverage: $3.69
• Made-to-order stir fry and 16 oz beverage: $4.65
• California roll sushi (5 pieces): $4.89
• Cheeseburger, fries, and 16 oz beverage: $4.10
• Made-to-order pasta dish and 16 oz beverage: $3.69

Dining and Culinary Services is committed to meeting the needs of all of our students. We have a Registered Dietitian on staff who works with every student to ensure we can meet the needs of that student. Currently, we work with over 600 students to walk them through our Dining program and make each student and parent feel comfortable that we can meet their student’s needs. In the rare occurrence that we are not able to meet the needs of an individual student, our staff will review their case for exemption from the meal plan. We also have one Dining location, Liz’s Market, which does not use tree nuts, peanuts, and shellfish as ingredients in any food items.

As with food allergens we strive to meet every student’s needs. We offer Halal options at all of our Dining Marketplaces, and our staff have been trained on how to handle these items. We also offer a selection of grab-and-go Kosher items that we procure from the Hillel House foodservice operation on campus. In the rare occurrence that we are not able to meet the needs of an individual student, our staff will review their case for exemption from the meal plan.

With a large selection of made-to-order items and over 15,000 recipes created by our on-staff chefs, we pride ourselves on providing high-quality food and variety. Many of our items are locally-sourced to use fresh, sustainable ingredients. In an April 2017 survey of 2,000 residents, our food service quality received an 82% satisfaction rating. Our food and dining options are consistently one of the top reasons students return to University Housing after their first year.

Our dining program participates in the Partnership for a Healthier America, to support our commitment to providing healthy eating choices. We also offer many vegetarian and vegan options across our dining locations and have Registered Dietitians on staff who can offer free consulting with students about diet and nutrition. Nutritional information is provided for all of our items on our website and line signs, including special icons to mark healthy choices and vegetarian selections.