FAQs

The university requires a meal plan to ensure that every student has access to nutritious meals to promote success in and out of the classroom. Dining on campus fosters a sense of community and belonging for our students. It further allows us to offer a variety of inclusive dining options and accommodate all dietary needs, while maintaining a high standard of food quality and service.

Meal Swipes are used for meals in our residential dining halls, which include Douglass, Danforth, and Eastman. One Meal Swipe is all you care to eat in. A Meal Swipe can also be used as an exchange for certain items in The Pit that qualify as a meal.

Dining Dollars are a non-taxable prepaid amount of money that can be used for items at any dining location on campus, such as grocery items at Hillside or coffee at Peet’s, Connections, or Starbucks. Dining Dollars can also be used to purchase a Meal Swipe. They work as a debit card balance. Funds carry over from the fall to spring semester but do not carry from one academic year to the next. All unused funds at the end of the spring semester are forfeited.

Declining Balance is the former name for what we now call Dining Dollars. These terms have the same meaning.

Rocky Bucks are a separate prepaid spending account that has broader flexibility than Dining Dollars. Rocky Bucks can be used at dining locations, vending machines, the bookstore, and participating businesses in College Town, such as Joy Mart. Funds carry over from year to year until graduation or until permanent removal (i.e. withdrawal).

No, once the semester starts, you can only make changes to your meal plan for the next term.

Changes in meal plans for the fall semester can be made at any time until the end of June. Changes in meal plans for the spring semester can be made at any time until the end of October.

There will also be a 1-week period prior to the start of classes each semester where changes can be made. These 1-week change periods are subject to a small fee. Students will receive an email with a link to a Meal Plan Change form from the Registrar’s Office prior to the start of this change period.

You can check your Dining Dollar balance through your eAccounts webpage.

Please reach out to our Campus Registered Dietitian at rcnutrition@services.rochester.edu. You can also find out more information by navigating to the Health & Wellness section of our website.

Yes, we have plenty of plant-based, including vegan and vegetarian, options on campus. Please navigate to the Health & Wellness section of our website to find out more.

Yes, nutrition information is available when you click on the menus of our dining locations on our website.

No, commuter plans are reserved for students not living in residential housing.

Dining Dollars are not refundable. Rocky Bucks remain in your account until graduation or until your permanent departure.  A balance of $25 or more is refundable.

Meal plans typically start about two weeks before the first day of class in the fall and end the Sunday of commencement weekend in the spring. Please contact us if you need specific dates.

Dining Dollars do not carry from one academic year to the next, and they cannot be refunded. They must be used within the academic year that they are received.

Graduate students are only required to have a meal plan if living in campus housing.

No, meal swipes must be used during the semester in which they are received. They cannot be refunded.