Terms and Conditions (living on campus)

Meal plans are included in the Residence Hall (“room and board”) contract rate for students living in the residence halls. Students with a Residence Hall contract are automatically enrolled in the Blue Plan. Upgrades are available. See the Gold Plan or Ultimate Plan for details.

Meal plans are valid for the full academic year. Meal plans include a combination of meal swipes and flex dollars. Meal swipes are for use in the dining commons or as a “meal equivalency” swipe at participating locations. Flex dollars may be used at campus restaurants, convenience stores, and to pay for guest meals. Flex dollars may also be used in the dining commons if meal swipes have run out for the week.

Each week a specific number of meal swipes are available for the meal plan holder to use once per meal period. Any unused meal swipes expire on Saturday at midnight each week and reset for the upcoming week. Meal swipes are non-transferrable.

Flex dollars work on a declining balance basis, with half the flex dollars available for each semester. Flex dollars will roll over from the fall semester to spring semester. Flex dollars do not roll over into the summer session, or from academic year to academic year. Any flex dollars not used by the last day of the spring semester will be forfeited.

Flex dollars function like cash dollars—1 flex dollar has the purchasing power of $1. For example, a purchase of $2.01 would cost 2.01 flex dollars. Flex dollars cannot be refunded, transferred to another meal plan holder, or canceled.

Three meal plans are available for students who live in the residence halls. Meal swipes may only be used by the meal plan holder.

Blue Plan: Provides 12 meal swipes per week in the dining commons, one only per meal period, and 600 flex dollars to use within the academic year (300 per semester). This plan is automatically included in the Residence Hall contract and fees.

Gold Plan: Provides 10 meal swipes per week in the dining commons, one only per meal period, and 1000 flex dollars to use within the academic year (500 per semester). 

Ultimate Plan: Provides unlimited meal swipes in the dining commons (one meal swipe every 30 minutes per meal period), and 1000 flex dollars to use within the academic year (500 per semester).

You can purchase add-on flex dollars: 110 flex dollars for $100 or 55 flex dollars for $50. Purchase on the Cal Dining website or visit the cashier’s office located at 2610 Channing Way, 2nd floor. Add-on flex dollars will roll over from fall to spring semester.

Students living in the residence halls may upgrade or change their meal plan through September 2, 2023; and for the spring semester from November 27, 2023, through January 27, 2024.

Upgrade from the Blue Plan to the Gold Plan for the additional cost of $175 per semester ($350 for the academic year); from the Blue Plan to the Ultimate Plan for $475 per semester ($950 for the academic year); and from the Gold Plan to the Ultimate Plan for $300 per semester ($600 for the academic year). Please note the upgrade fee cannot be prorated.

Upgrades and changes to meal plans must be made by contacting the Cal Housing office via email at reshall@berkeley.edu. No other meal plan upgrades or change requests will be approved outside of the official change period.

Students living in the residence halls are required to have a meal plan, and may not cancel their meal plan for any reason. UC Berkeley has a combined room and board program and does not separate the cost of the meal plan from room fees.

If you request a meal plan upgrade, once it’s approved, it will be immediately activated. A bill for the upgrade and the payment due date will be posted on your CalCentral Account after the official change period is over (September 3, 2023, during the fall semester and January 28, 2024, for the spring semester.) It’s the student’s responsibility to ensure payments are received at Campus Billing & Payment Services, 140 University Hall, on time, or be subject to late fines and other sanctions. Fees will also be assessed for any returned checks and will be charged to your CalCentral Account statement.

Should an account become delinquent, action will be taken to collect on any outstanding debt. To prevent such sanctions, contact the Cal Central Office prior to the 15th of the payment month.

• All meal plans for fall 2022 will begin on Sunday, August 20, 2023, and end on Saturday, December 16, 2023.
  • There will be limited service during Thanksgiving Break and only flex dollars will be accepted from Thursday, November 23, 2023, through Saturday, November 25, 2023. Regular service will resume on Sunday, November 26, 2023.
• All meal plans for spring 2023 will begin on Thursday, January 11, 2024, and end on Sunday, May 12, 2023.
  • There will be limited service during Spring Break and only flex dollars will be accepted from Sunday, March 24, 2024, through Saturday, March 30, 2024. Regular service will resume on Sunday, March 31, 2024.

Cal Dining locations may have special hours or close for holidays. Please note in the case of an emergency campus closure, advance notice may not be provided. Please view the Hours of Operation for up-to-date information.

Please review the Cal Dining website for up-to-date information on available locations. Meal plans can be used in all Cal Dining locations: dining commons, restaurants, and convenience stores.

Fall and spring semester dates as defined in the official University academic calendar shall constitute the period of the Blue Plan, Gold Plan, or Ultimate Plan contract, except for campus closure periods. Please view the UC Berkeley academic calendar for up-to-date information.

Cal Dining uses the Cal 1 Card to manage meal plan utilization. The Cal 1 Card is encoded for the appropriate meal plan specified on the Cal 1 Card holders’ account. Students must show a valid Cal 1 Card at every meal, as meal plan access is by Cal 1 Card swipe only. Cal 1 Cards and privileges are non-transferable. In the absence of the Cal 1 Card, meals may be purchased with cash, credit, or debit at the general public price.

The Cal 1 Card is valuable and should be protected accordingly. You are solely responsible for immediately reporting/deactivating a lost or stolen Cal 1 Card. The most effective way to do so is online by logging into your Cal 1 Card account. If you do not have access to the internet when your card is lost or stolen, reports can be made in person at the Cal 1 Card Office or by calling 1.866.2UCBCARD. Once the card is reported missing, you assume no further liability for unauthorized use. A $35 non-refundable replacement fee will be assessed to your student billing account. If your card was stolen and you filed a police report for the incident, the replacement fee will be waived by presenting the corresponding police report when requesting the replacement card. Replacement cards are only issued to students with a current registration status in the applicable academic term. NOTE: If you are a student and you withdraw from classes, the Cal 1 Card cannot be replaced if you lose it, and you will not be able to use your meal plan.

Cal Dining makes every effort to identify ingredients that may trigger more well-known allergic or other adverse reactions for individuals with food allergies or intolerance. Our staff is trained and educated on food allergies and gluten-free diets on an ongoing basis, and they ensure that items marked gluten friendly are made without gluten-containing ingredients. However, due to the volume of meals served and items used each day, along with food product changes from our vendors, we cannot guarantee that every allergen or gluten source in the food served will be identified and labeled. There is a small possibility that, without notice to us, manufacturers of the commercial foods we use can change the formulation at any time. Cross contact may also occur despite our best efforts to prevent it. Customers concerned with food allergens and gluten must be aware of these risks. Cal Dining cannot assume any liability for adverse reactions to food consumed, or items one may come in contact with while eating at any Cal Dining facility or catered event. Customers with life-threatening food allergies who may need to use an EpiPen should be carrying their own at all times. Cal Dining staff is not trained to administer EpiPens and cannot provide or administer them.

Cal Dining strives to provide a variety of meal options, including vegetarian and vegan selections. Although not guaranteed, special diets can generally be accommodated within our regular offerings. Students living in the residence halls are encouraged to meet with our registered dietitian to discuss any special dietary concerns or food allergies by emailing dietitian@berkeley.edu.