HawkCard Office

Meal Plan General Information

The UW-Whitewater meal plans provide exceptional value for both residential and off campus members of the University community. Not only does the meal plan program provide you with a wide variety of fresh meals to choose from all day long, but they offer the convenience of no clean up or shopping for food.

The cost of your meal plan will vary depending on which plan and level of Dining Dollars you choose. The price you pay for a meal plan (but not Add-on Dining Dollars) is divided into two segments:

The Administrative Fee: This segment of the meal plan cost is used to pay for all the kitchen equipment and services, furniture, maintenance of the building and the kitchen, utilities, cleaning supplies and staff, and all remodeling and repairs. The administrative fee portion of the meal plan is not available for purchasing meals.

The Meal Plan: This segment of the meal plan cost is available for food purchase in campus dining facilities. The university offers four plan choices. Each with its own advantages. It's your choice!

Meal plans offer students the option of selecting the number of meals they wish to eat each week over the course of an entire semester.

  1. The meal plan week starts on Monday with breakfast and runs through Sunday dinner.
  2. Every Sunday night at midnight the computer resets all student accounts for the next week.
  3. Unused meals do not transfer over from week to week.
  4. "Guest Meals" can be used Friday dinner thru Sunday dinner.
  5. Students registered for a meal plan must present their HawkCard (ID card) prior to entering the serving areas.
  6. Meals may also be purchased with Dining Dollars, Purple Points, cash, check or credit card.
  7. HawkCards are not transferable, misused HawkCard's will be confiscated.
  8. Final plan pricing reflects allowances for partial weeks when fewer meals are offered.

According to policy of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, all freshman and sophomore students are required to reside in University operated Residence Halls during the academic year. If students wish to be exempt from the "Residency Requirement," they need to file the Application for Exemption form prior to signing a housing contract.

As stated in the University Housing Contract, "if you are a freshman or sophomore, you also agree to subscribe to one meal plan offered at the University."

Exceptions to this policy include:

  1. Students who have completed 60 credits or more.
  2. Married students.
  3. Veterans.
  4. Students who have resided in the residence halls for at least two full years.
  5. Students recognized by the University as having independent status.
  6. Students with Junior, Senior, or Commuter status.

Exemptions to the mandatory meal plan policy will not be granted for employment reasons, class schedule conflicts, or for financial reasons. Exemptions will be considered for medical reasons only. The "Meal Plan Exemption" form is available in the HawkCard Office, UC 250.

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Fixed Meal Plans: Students have the opportunity to choose from 7, 10, 14 or 19 meals per week, plus a choice between $50, $75, $100, $150, $200 or $250 in Add-on Dining Dollars each semester. Add-On Dining Dollars provides extra meals, snacks,or food from any of the campus dining halls or restaurants.

The Fixed Meal Plan allows only one meal to be eaten during a meal period. There are 26 meal periods per week: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Late Night, Monday-Friday and Brunch, Dinner and Late Night on Saturdays and Sundays.

Final plan pricing reflects allowances for partial weeks when fewer meals are offered. 2008-09 prices:

The 19 Meal Plan: $910 + Add-on Dining Dollars
Students have the opportunity to eat 19 of the 26 meals offered each week. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night are served daily while brunch, dinner and Late Night are served on the weekends. This plan is designed for the student who regularly eats 3 meals a day and/or will staying on campus most of the weekends each semester. This plan offers the lowest average cost per meal.

The 14 Meal Plan: $885 + Add-on Dining Dollars
Students have the opportunity to eat 14 of the 26 meals offered each week. This plan is an option for students who don't regularly eat breakfast and will be staying on campus about half of the weekends each semester. This is the most commonly chosen plan by UW-W students.

The 10 Meal Plan: $869 + Add-on Dining Dollars
Students have the opportunity to eat 10 of the 26 meals offered each week. This plan is designed for students who are light eaters or for those students who go home most weekends.

The 7 Meal Plan: $853 + Add-on Dining Dollars
Students have the opportunity to eat 7 of the 26 meals offered each week.

120 Block Meal Plan: Students will be given 120 meals to use throughout the semester plus a choice between $50, $75, $100, $150, $200 or $250 in Add-on Dining Dollars each semester. Add-On Dining Dollars provides extra meals, snacks,or food from any of the campus dining halls or restaurants.

The 120 Block Meal Plan: $885 + Add-on Dining Dollars
Students have the opportunity to eat 120 meals over the entire semester, without any limitations on the number of meals they eat each day or week. This plan averages 6-7 meals per week. Students with this plan may have a guest eat with them at any meal.

Students, choose a meal plan from the rows on the left, then choose an Add-on Dining Dollar amount from one of the columns. The total cost of the meal plan is determined by the combination of prices in the corresponding columns and rows. This gives you more flexibility in creating a plan that fits your individual needs. For example, if you choose 14 meals per week ($885) and $75 Dining Dollars ($75), your cost would be $960. Final plan pricing reflects allowances for partial weeks when fewer meals are offered.

2008-09 Meal Plan Prices

  DINING DOLLARS (Per Semester)
$50 $75 $100 $150 $200 $250 Cost/week Avg.
Cost/meal

MEAL PLAN
Per Week

 7 Meals ($853) $903 $928 $953 $1,003 $1,053 $1,103 $50.18 $7.17
10 Meals ($869) $919 $944 $969 $1,019 $1,069 $1,119 $51.12 $5.11
14 Meals ($885) $935 $960 $985 $1,035 $1,085 $1,135 $52.06 $3.72
19 Meals ($910) $960 $985 $1,010 $1,060 $1,110 $1,160 $53.53 $2.82
Block ($885)
(120 Meals per
semester)		 $935 $960 $985 $1,035 $1,085 $1,135 $52.06 $7.38

Dining Dollar Plans: Dining Dollars are flexible funds that accompany a meal plan or are stand alone plans when a Full or Mega plan is chosen. Students can spend them at any campus restaurant. The Dining Dollars feature provides greater flexibility to the meal plan program. They provide for purchases at any campus restaurant for yourself or an accompanying guest. $50 in Dining Dollars is the same as $50 cash, and you can buy items from any menu or at any market (convenience store). They are accepted at all campus restaurants.

Students have the opportunity to choose from the Full Dining Dollar Plan or the Mega Dining Dollar Plan. These dining dollars can be used in any of the University Dining locations. With the Full or Mega Dining Dollar plans, students pay full retail prices at any of the campus restaurants or dining halls (but no sales tax).

The Full Dining Dollar Plan: Cost - $1,030, Redemption Value - $755
This plan is designed to offer the average student the equivalent of 6-7 meals per week.

The Mega Dining Dollar Plan: Cost - $1,130, Redemption Value - $855
This plan is the same as the Full Dining Dollar Plan, but has $100 more spending money during the semester. This plan is designed to offer the students the equivalent of 7-8 meals per week.

Students desiring all Dining Dollars may choose one of the following plans:

MEAL PLAN PRICE REDEMPTION VALUE AVG. WEEKLY REDEMPTION
Full Dining Dollar Plan $1,030 $755 $44.41
Mega Dining Dollar Plan $1,130 $855 $50.29

* Students not required to have a meal plan may choose the Standing Reservations Meal Plan.

MEAL PLAN PRICE AVG. WEEKLY COST PER MEAL
Standing Reservations (25 Meals) $122.00 $7.18 $4.88
Additional 10 Meals $48.80 $2.87 $4.88

2008-09 Individual Meal Prices

MEAL DINING DOLLARS PURPLE POINTS CASH (plus tax)
Breakfast $2.86 $3.38 $4.37
Continental $2.65 $3.02 $3.07
Lunch, Brunch $4.00 $4.78 $6.14
Dinner $5.20 $6.03 $7.02
Steak Night $6.24 $7.02 $7.70

If you have further questions, see the Meal Plan Frequently Asked Questions web page.