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frequently asked questions

What is the alcohol policy in the dining halls?
Alcoholic beverages are prohibited from being possessed or consumed in Stanford Dining Halls during meal times and food service.  University Dining staff can deny admission, access, or meal service to anyone who is deemed to be overly intoxicated by the Dining Management staff.

Where are Stanford Dining and Stanford Hospitality & Auxiliaries' Retail cafe locations and hours of operation?

The 2008-2009 Stanford Dining Map
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Why am I required to purchase a meal plan?
Students living in Branner, Florence Moore, Lagunita, Manzanita, Murray, Ricker/Sterling Quadrangle, Roble, Stern, Wilbur, Murray and Yost are required by the University to purchase Stanford Dining meal plans. Dining halls at Branner, Florence Moore, Lagunita, Ricker, Wilbur, Manzanita and Stern offer a variety of All-You-Care-To-Eat services. Yost and Murray Houses each have unique meal plans that include All-You-Care-To-Eat service combined with Open Kitchen privileges.

Mealtimes play a key role in helping to build a sense of community within a house and in promoting interaction between residents, faculty and guests. For this reason, all students living in an undergraduate residence must purchase the meal plan offered by their residence. In most cases, this is a Stanford Dining Meal Plan.

In Toyon and the Suites, students are required to belong to student-managed eating clubs that provide meals and plan social events. Student-managed houses (self-ops or co-ops) offer their own required meal plans. Students living in Crothers Memorial, Escondido Village, Lyman, Mirrielees Apartments, Rains or Schwab have private kitchens, and thus no meal plan is required in those residences. Cardinal Dollars are a popular choice with these students.
What types of meal plans are available?
Stanford Dining has developed three different meals plans from which our students can select the one that best suits their needs.

All-You-Care-To-Eat Meal Plans.
Available to residents of Branner, Stern, Florence Moore, Lagunita, Roble, Wilber, Manzanita and Ricker/Sterling Quadrangle.

Stanford Dining offers the following All-You-Care-To-Eat meal plan options:

  • Plan A -- 19 Meals per Week
  • Plan B -- 14 Meal per Week + 420 Meal Plan Cardinal Dollars per year
  • Plan C -- 10 Meals per Week + 750 Meal Plan Cardinal Dollars per year

Open Kitchen.
Available to residents of Yost & Murray Houses only .

  • Plan E -- 11 Meals per week

+ 345 Meal Plan Points per year
+ Open Kitchen privileges
+ Additional budget for house snack purchases

For more information, about meal plans, choices, and rates, please visit our
Meal Plan page.

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What day does my meal plan cycle start and end each week?
The weekly cycle starts with Sunday brunch and ends with Saturday dinner each week.
When are my meal plan and Meal Plan Cardinal Dollars available
for use?

The 2008-2009 academic residential dining meal plan schedule is as follows:
  START END
AUTUMN Friday, September 19, 2008 Friday, December 12, 2008
WINTER

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Friday, March 20, 2009

SPRING Sunday, March 29, 2009 Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Meal Plans and Meal Plan Cardinal Dollars will be unavailable for use during the interim periods between Autumn and Winter quarters and between Winter and Spring quarters.

 

Do I always need to eat in my residence hall?
The University encourages students to eat in their residence hall. Taking meals together with your housemates and guests is an essential part of Stanford’s Residential Education program. Your meal plan allows you to also eat with friends in other residential dining halls. In addition meal plan holders are provided with five bonus guest meals per quarter in order to host guests in their dining halls.

What if I am sick or I can’t come to the dining hall at the scheduled
meal time?

Stanford Dining management works diligently to schedule our dining hall hours to accommodate our students’ varied schedules. However, if your schedule does not allow you to dine during regular meal hours, our kitchens are set up to provide you with a "Sack Lunch" or a "Late-Plate" dinner. The procedure is to sign up at least 24 hours in advance with the Dining Hall Manager. You may also sign up online for a “Sack Lunch” or a “Late Plate” by clicking the Cardinal on the Run link in the side-bar of this page. For dinner, the student selects food from the posted menu for dinner that day. For more information regarding dining hall hours of operation and locations please visit the hours and locations page.

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Are there any locations open after regular meal hours?
Stanford Dining recognizes that sometimes arranging a late plate or making one of the late dinner periods just isn’t feasible or students might want to meet for study groups somewhere other than their houses or libraries. Stanford Dining has a number of late-night eateries that offer after hours dining for students. Your Cardinal Dollars may also be used at Stanford Hospitality & Auxiliaries' Retail Cafes including The Axe and Palm, which is open until 2am! For more information regarding Stanford Dining hours of operation and locations please visit the hours and locations page.

I do not have a meal plan. Am I still able to eat in a Dining Hall?
Don't have a Stanford Dining Meal Plan? Ran out of Meals? Stanford Dining's All-You-Care-To-Eat meal service is the best kept secret on campus! Pay by cash, personal check or Cardinal Dollars at Branner, Florence Moore, Lakeside, Manzanita, Murray, Ricker, Stern, Wilbur, and indulge yourself with unlimited trips through the serving lines. Show your student ID and don't pay tax!

Walk-ins Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Student (no tax) $5.77 $7.39 $9.24
Non-Student (includes tax) $6.25 $8.00 $10.00
*All prices subject to change. Rates listed above are for the 2008/09 Academic Year.
Meal Plan Cardinal Dollars and Cardinal Dollars: What’s the difference?
Cardinal Dollars allow you to increase dining flexibility within meal plans by providing dining facility choices outside of your residence. Adding Cardinal Dollars to your Stanford ID card eliminates the need to carry cash and provides you with the security and convenience of a card. One Cardinal Dollar is equal to US$1.00. Purchase $100 worth of Cardinal Dollars and receive a 10% bonus. With Cardinal Dollars, you can meet friends for lunch at their dining hall, dine at cafes around campus and sample Stanford Dining's late night eateries.

Meal Plan Cardinal Dollars
Purchased ONLY within the context of a All-You-Care-To-Eat meal plan, all Meal Cardinal Dollars can be used in residential dining halls as well as Stanford Dining’s restaurants and cafés.

Up to seventy-five (75) total unused Meal Plan Points will transfer from quarter to quarter. All unused points above 75 will expire at the close of each quarter. ALL accrued and unused points expire at the end of each academic year.

Cardinal Dollars
Purchased in addition to an All-You-Care-To-Eat meal plan or separately throughout the year, Cardinal Dollars can be used in all the same ways as Meal Plan Points.

Enrolled students can purchase Cardinal Dollars by logging in to their account using the Manage Your Account option on this website (under the "Students" header). On-line orders are charged to your University bill.

Students can also submit an order via email. Send the email from your SUNet account to diningplans@stanford.edu. Be sure to include your SUID number and how much you wish to purchase. Email orders are billed to your University bill.

Anyone may purchase Cardinal Dollars with cash, check or credit card by visiting Stanford Dining’s Customer Service Office located on the second floor of Tresidder Memorial Union, Suite 5, off the Meeting Services lobby. This office is opened Monday – Friday, between 9 am and 5 pm.

For additional information, contact us at diningplans@stanford.edu, or by phone at 650-723-4751.

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Who do I contact to change my meal plan?
Online meal plan changes can be made up until the last two weeks of the quarter. Come by Stanford Dining's Meal Plan office located centrally on the second floor of Tresidder Memorial Union, Suite 5, off the Meeting Services lobby. This office is open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.

Students can change their meal plan by logging into their account using the My Account option on this website.

Email diningplans@stanford.edu (include your name, SUID number, and the Meal Plan or amount of Cardinal Dollars you would like to purchase).

Call 650-723-4751 with any questions about your meal plan.

Can I use more than one meal swipe per meal period?
You may only use one meal per meal period in the dining halls. Any additional meals during the same meal period must be purchased with Guest meals, Cardinal Dollars, or Cash.
Can I change my meal plan at any time? What happens to my meals and my Meal Plan Cardinal Dollars when I do?
You may change your meal plan online up until the last two weeks of the quarter. When a meal plan change is made, any existing rollover meal(s) you may have in the system are lost. Your Meal Plan Cardinal Dollars are pro-rated in relation to what day of the quarter it is. Each Cardinal Dollar balance is adjusted via a pro-rated amount when switching meal plans.
Where can I use my meal plan?
Please visit the hours and locations page.
Do I need my Stanford ID card to eat and what do I do if I lose my Stanford ID Card?
Your Stanford ID Card is also your dining card. Carry it with you always!  Remember to bring your card to all meals or be prepared to pay cash. We cannot make exceptions. Protect your meal plan balances! For your own protection, if you lose your Stanford ID Card, you will want to report it lost as soon as possible. We suggest you report your lost card in person, at the ID Card Office (459 Lagunita Drive, Tresidder Union, Student Services Center on the 2nd floor), where you will be issued a replacement card immediately.

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How do I get a meal plan exemption?
Exemptions from Stanford Dining Meal Plans are issued for medical or religious reasons only. Stanford Dining will go out of its way to provide students with acceptable options at every meal service. For special dietary needs due to medical reasons, students must first contact their Stanford Dining Manager and consult with a Stanford Dining Registered Dietitian. Each exemption request must be accompanied by acceptable written documentation from an independent (non-relative) medical doctor or respective clergy person. An exemption request must meet specific criteria before a review is conducted and a decision is finalized.

Exemptions for medical reasons are approved by the Stanford Disability Resource Center, and those for religious reasons are considered through the Stanford Office for Religious Life.

If a student receives a meal plan exemption and lives in a residence that requires a meal plan, a general administrative (fixed-cost) overhead fee is assessed each quarter the meal plan exemption is in force.

I am allergic to peanuts. What can Stanford Dining do to help me?
Peanuts are quickly becoming one of the world’s most allergic foods, and 3 million Americans currently suffer from all levels of nut and peanut allergies. Here at Stanford, some students have such severe peanut allergies that they must avoid eating in our dining halls for fear of contact with peanut material residue on countertops, breathing in vapors from peanut shell fumes, or ingesting as little as one-five thousandth of a teaspoon of food containing peanuts.

In response to a clear need for peanut allergy awareness in university dining services nationwide, Stanford Dining has made Ricker Dining the first on-campus dining facility in the country to designate itself a peanut-sensitive environment. Stanford Dining is paving the way for other institutions to follow in our footsteps, and we are proud to be able to meet such a pressing health need of our students.

   
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