Terms and conditions (living off campus)

Students living in off-campus housing or university-owned/affiliated apartments are considered “off campus” and may purchase an off-campus meal plan. Students must have a current and active registration indicating that they are a student. Meal plans begin on the Sunday prior to when fall semester instruction begins, and end on the last Sunday of the spring semester. Meal plans will remain active for the full academic year. Meal plans include flex dollars. Flex dollars may be used in the dining commons, campus restaurants, convenience stores, concession stands, and to pay for guest meals at a discount from the cash price in the dining commons. Flex dollars work on a declining balance basis, with half the flex dollars available for each semester. Up to 100 flex dollars roll over from fall semester to spring semester. Flex dollars will not roll over into 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 off-campus housing or university-owned/affiliated apartments:

• Platinum Plan:
  • 2700 flex dollars per academic year (1350 per semester)
  • $2,500 per academic year ($1,250 per semester)
• Premium Plan:
  • 1900 flex dollars per academic year (950 per semester)
  • $1,800 per academic year ($900 per semester)
• Standard Plan:
  • 1400 flex dollars per academic year (700 per semester)
  • $1,400 per academic year ($700 per semester)

Add-on flex dollars: Get more for your money when you purchase add-on flex dollars— 110 flex dollars for $100 or 55 flex dollars for $50. To purchase add-on flex dollars, go online to caldining.berkeley.edu or visit the cashier's office located at 2610 Channing Way, 2nd floor. Add-on flex dollars roll over from fall to spring semester.

Students living in off-campus housing or university-owned/affiliated apartments may change their meal plan at the beginning of the fall semester through September 9, 2020, or from November 29, 2020, to January 22, 2021, for the spring semester. Changes to meal plans must be made by filling out this form. No other meal plan change requests will be approved outside of the official change period. At any time during the academic year, students living in off-campus housing or university-owned/affiliated apartments may upgrade their meal plan from the Standard Plan to the Premium Plan for the additional cost of $200 per semester, from the Standard Plan to the Platinum Plan for $550 per semester, or from the Premium Plan to the Platinum Plan for $350 per semester. Upgrades to meal plans must be made by filling out this form. Please note that the upgrade fee cannot be prorated.

Students living in off-campus housing or university-owned/affiliated apartments may cancel their meal plan for the fall semester through September 9, 2020, or from November 29, 2020, through January 22, 2021, for the spring semester. No credit or refund will be given for any unused flex dollars from the fall semester. Add-on flex dollars will not be refunded or transferred; Meal plan holders will forfeit all unused flex dollars up to the cancelation date. Cancellation fees apply.

Flex dollars may be used at the following locations:

• Dining Commons: Café 3, Clark Kerr, Crossroads, and Foothill*
• Convenience Stores: Bear Market, CKCub, The Den, and Cub Market*
• Campus Restaurants: Brown's*, Common Grounds*, Terrace Café*, The Golden Bear Café, and The Pro Shop at RSF*
• Select Concession Stands: California Memorial Stadium, Edwards Track, Evans Diamond, Haas Pavilion, Levine-Fricke Field, Witter Rugby Field, and other concessions during Cal Athletics events. Look for the “Meal plan flex dollars accepted here” signs.

*Temporarily closed for 2020–⁠2021.

If graduating in the fall semester or studying abroad in the spring semester, students must request to cancel their meal plan by filling out this form. Students who are graduating or studying abroad are allowed to cancel to avoid a penalty or cancellation fee. Verification of graduation or the study abroad program will be requested. Failure to contact BusOps will result in additional charges to students’ CalCentral account.

Installments are billed to your CalCentral Account, and due in September and January. The statements will indicate the specific date payment is due. 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.

Meals plans for fall 2020 will begin on Sunday, August 23, 2020. There will be no service during Thanksgiving Break from Thursday, November 26, 2020, through Saturday, November 28, 2020, and will resume on Sunday, November 29, 2020. Meal plan service for fall 2020 will end on Friday, December 18, 2020. Meal plans for spring 2021 will begin on Sunday, January 17, 2021. There will be no service during Spring Break from Sunday, March 21, 2021, through Saturday, March 27, 2021, and will resume on Sunday, March 28, 2021. Meal plans will end on Saturday, May 15, 2021. 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 Cal Dining Hours of Operation for up-to-date information.

Fall and spring semester dates as defined in the official University academic calendar shall constitute the period of the Standard Plan, Premium Plan or Platinum 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 account (cal1card.berkeley.edu/login). 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.