FAQ

• On-campus meal plans: If you’re living in a residence hall, the Blue & Gold Plan is included in your housing contract and includes a combination of meal swipes, flex dollars, and flex+ dollars. You can upgrade or change your meal plan by filling out the On-Campus Meal Plan Change Form found under “Upgrades and Changes” on the On-Campus Meal Plan page during the official change period. For questions, contact the UC Berkeley Housing office via email at reshall@berkeley.edu.
• Meal plans are valid for the academic year.
• Off-campus meal plans available by semester: If you’re an undergraduate student living in off-campus housing or university-owned or affiliated apartments, or if you’re a graduate or extension student, you can purchase off-campus meal plans for the semester. Choose from meal plans with flex and flex+ dollars only or meal plans with a combination of meal swipes, flex dollars, and flex+ dollars. The Standard Plan, Premium Plan, and Platinum Plan include flex and flex+ dollars and work on a declining balance. The Advantage Plan, Blue & Gold Plan, and Ultimate Plan include a combination of meal swipes, flex dollars, and flex+ dollars. You can purchase add-on flex+ dollars with any plan at any time.

Meal plans become active on the published service start date for your plan. Please refer to the Important Dates page for specific activation dates and deadlines.

Expire at the end of the academic year.

Meal swipes are stored on your Cal 1 Card and are deducted each time you visit the dining commons or when you use a meal swipe equivalency at participating locations. Based on your meal plan, each week you have a specific number of meal swipes available to use. Any unused meal swipes expire on Saturday at midnight each week and reset for the upcoming week.

Flex and flex+ dollars are stored on your Cal 1 Card and are deducted each time you visit a UC Berkeley Dining location. Flex and flex+ dollars function like cash dollars. One flex+ dollar has the purchasing power of $1. Use your flex dollars at all UC Berkeley Dining locations, including UC Berkeley Dining pickup on Grubhub. Use flex+ dollars everywhere flex dollars do, plus Grubhub nationwide. You can also purchase add-on flex+ dollars: 100 flex+ dollars for $100 or 50 flex+ dollars for $50.

• If you’re a student living in a residence hall and have run out of meal swipes for the week, you can use your flex dollars in the dining commons. If you need more meal swipes in your plan, upgrade your meal plan by filling out the On-Campus Meal Plan Change Form found under “Upgrades and Changes” on the On-Campus Meal Plan page during the official change period. For questions, contact the UC Berkeley Housing office via email at reshall@berkeley.edu.
• For all student meal plans, you can purchase add-on flex+ dollars at any time: 100 flex+ dollars for $100 or 50 flex+ dollars for $50. To purchase add-on flex+ dollars, go online to dining.berkeley.edu.
• If you’re an undergraduate student living in off-campus housing or university-owned or affiliated apartments, or a graduate or extension student, and you have the Advantage Plan or Blue & Gold Plan and have run out of meal swipes for the week, you can use your flex dollars in the dining commons.

No, students must have a meal plan to use flex dollars and flex+ dollars.

Flex and flex+ dollars roll over from the fall semester to the spring semester. They do not roll over into the summer session or the following academic year. Any unused flex or flex+ dollars at the end of the spring semester will be forfeited.

Yes, for all student meal plans, you can use your flex dollars to pay for guests.

• Undergraduate students living in the residence halls:
  • Upgrades and changes to meal plans must be made by filling out the On-Campus Meal Plan Change Form found under “Upgrades and Changes” on the On-Campus Meal Plan page during the official change period. For questions, contact the UC Berkeley Housing office via email at reshall@berkeley.edu.
  • No other meal plan change requests will be approved outside of the official change period.
  • Upgrade from the Blue & Gold Plan to the Ultimate Plan for $500 per semester ($1,000 for the academic year). Note: the upgrade fee cannot be prorated.
• Undergraduate students living in off-campus housing or university-owned/affiliated apartments, and graduate/extension students:
  • Changes and cancellations to meal plans must be made by filling out the Off-Campus Meal Plan Change Form found under “Changes and Cancellations” on the Off-Campus Meal Plan page during the official change period.
  • No other meal plan change requests will be approved outside of the official change period.
  • Meal plan holders will forfeit all unused flex and flex+ dollars up to the cancellation date. Approved cancellations will be assessed a $75.00 cancellation fee, and the refund will be prorated.

Off-campus meal plans available by the semester are designed for undergraduate students who live in off-campus housing or university-owned or affiliated apartments, and graduate or extension students.

No, off-campus meal plans are not available to students who are living in residence halls. The Blue & Gold Plan is included with your housing contract. You can change or upgrade to the Ultimate Plan by filling out the form under “Upgrades and Changes” on the On-Campus Meal Plan page during the official change period.

You can purchase an off-campus meal plan at dining.berkeley.edu or at the cashier’s office located at 2610 Channing Way, 2nd floor. See the Important Dates page for information on when meal plans are available for purchase in the fall and spring.

• Off-campus meal plans may include one or both of the following components, depending on the plan selected:
• Meal swipes
  • Meal swipes are for use in the dining commons or as a meal swipe equivalency at participating locations. Each week, a specific number of meal swipes are available based on your plan. Any unused meal swipes expire on Saturday at midnight each week and reset for the upcoming week. Flex dollars may be used in the dining commons if meal swipes have run out for the week.
• Flex and flex+ dollars
  • Flex and flex+ dollars are stored on your Cal 1 Card and are deducted each time you visit a UC Berkeley Dining location. Flex and flex+ dollars function like cash dollars. One flex+ dollar has the purchasing power of $1. Based on your meal plan, you have a specific number of flex and flex+ dollars available for the semester. Use your flex dollars at all UC Berkeley Dining locations, including UC Berkeley Dining pickup on Grubhub. Flex+ dollars can be used everywhere flex dollars do, plus Grubhub nationwide.
• Plans with meal swipes, flex dollars, and flex+ dollars:
  • The Advantage Plan, Blue & Gold Plan, and Ultimate Plan include both meal swipes and flex and flex+ dollars.
• Plans with flex and flex+ dollars only:
  • The Standard Plan, Premium Plan, and Platinum Plan include flex and flex+ dollars and work on a declining balance.

For full details, plan comparisons, and pricing, please visit the Off-Campus Meal Plan page.

You’re eligible to purchase off-campus meal plans by the semester, including the Standard Plan, Premium Plan, Platinum Plan, Advantage Plan, Blue & Gold Plan, and Ultimate Plan.

• The register systems in all UC Berkeley Dining locations automatically deduct from your meal plan account first (if you have meal plan swipes, flex dollars, and/or flex+ dollars and a Cal 1 Card debit account)
• Deductions start with meal swipes, and if you run out of meal swipes, the register will automatically deduct flex dollars from your Cal 1 Card. (You may pay for meals with cash, credit, or debit cards if you have run out of swipes and have not added more flex+ dollars.)

No, parent CalNet delegate credentials do not work for the purpose of purchasing meal plans or add-on flex+ dollars.

Yes, off-campus meal plans are available by the semester to undergraduate students living in off-campus housing or university-owned or affiliated apartments, as well as graduate or extension students.

• Undergraduate 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.
• Undergraduate students living in off-campus housing or university-owned or affiliated apartments, and graduate or extension students:
  • Cancellation or changes to meal plans must be made by filling out the Off-Campus Meal Plan Change Form found under “Changes and Cancellations” on the Off-Campus Meal Plan page during the official change period. No other meal plan changes or cancellation requests will be approved outside of the official change period. Meal plan holders will forfeit all unused flex and flex+ dollars up to the cancellation date. Approved cancellations will be assessed a $75.00 cancellation fee, and the refund will be prorated.

Our dining commons, including Crossroads, Café 3, Clark Kerr, and Foothill, are all-you-care-to-eat locations where food is meant to be eaten on the premises. While you are welcome to grab a piece of fruit or a small dessert, such as a cookie, to take with you, additional carry-out is not permitted.

UC Berkeley Dining offers a wide variety of options. Our menus are created by a team of chefs and a registered dietitian to ensure a balance of flavor and nutrition, while also highlighting vegan and vegetarian selections. Menus include nutrition facts, ingredients, and carbon footprint icons. While our menus are diverse, it is up to our customers to choose wisely. For optimal nutritional value, UC Berkeley Dining sources a variety of environmentally friendly and health-promoting ingredients. If you would like advice from our registered dietitian, please email dietitian@berkeley.edu.

Your dietary or nutritional questions are best addressed by our registered dietitian in advance, by emailing dietitian@berkeley.edu, or joining one of her weekly open Zoom meetings on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
If you’re on-site and have questions, our general managers and chefs in each location can assist you. In addition, residential students have the opportunity to meet with Tang Center student health workers conveniently located in each residence hall. All students may also visit the Tang Center for health and wellness information.

We encourage you to visit the nutrition section of our website to learn more about our practices to accommodate food allergies. For additional questions, you can always reach out to our registered dietitian by emailing dietitian@berkeley.edu. You may also complete the Special Diet Notification for UC Berkeley Dining Dietitian form, and our dietitian will reach out to you.

If you’re prescribed medications or epinephrine injectors for food allergies, please carry them with you at all times. Read more about how to manage your food allergies while on a meal plan at Berkeley on our resources page. You can view the menu and nutritional information online, and filter by allergens, dietary preferences, and more. 

UC Berkeley Dining is committed to helping our customers meet their dietary needs. Whether you have food allergies, gluten intolerance, dietary restrictions from religious practices, follow a vegan/vegetarian diet, or simply need assistance with your food selections, we have your mind and our menus are created to be inclusive to accommodate you. 

We encourage you to visit the nutrition section of our website to learn more about our practices to accommodate special diets. Students with specific questions can schedule a one-on-one meeting with our Registered Dietitian to discuss your dietary needs. Please email dietitian@berkeley.edu to make an appointment, or book a slot at her virtual weekly Meet the Dietitian event on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. 

In the meantime, students in need of housing accommodation due to special dietary needs (i.e. severe food allergies, Celiac disease) are encouraged to reach out to the Housing Accommodations Team at housingaccommodations@berkeley.edu, or apply for housing accommodations using our online application.

UC Berkeley Dining offers a variety of daily selections to meet your vegetarian and vegan needs at all of our locations. You can view the online menu and filter options for your dietary preferences. You can also review the menu signage to find the highlighted vegan (VG) and vegetarian (V) selections. Please ask a UC Berkeley Dining staff member for help if you have additional questions or requests. 

As far as vegan and vegetarian menu offerings, there is typically at least one vegan or vegetarian alternative to the animal-based protein at each platform in the dining commons, made with tofu, beans, lentils, chickpeas, or meat analogues. The allergen-friendly station in each of the dining commons reliably offers hot vegan food for lunch/brunch and dinner daily, with at least one vegan protein and one cooked vegetable, along with gluten-free starch and tubers.

Café 3 is UC Berkeley Dining’s designated location for Halal and Kosher-friendly meals. H and K icons are used to identify Halal and Kosher options on our digital and printed menus.
The main entrée station, or Cener Plate at Café 3, is curated to be Halal with no pork or alcohol. Halal chicken and beef are also available at the allergen-friendly stations in each of the dining commons.
The Kosher Kitchen at Café 3 offers kosher sandwiches and meals for lunch/brunch and dinner Sunday through Thursday. Packaged kosher sandwiches are sold in our convenience stores across campus.
If your religious or cultural customs require close attention to diet, the online menu allows you to filter for kosher and halal options. Please review the menu signage carefully, and ask for help from our staff if you have additional questions or requests.

• Undergraduate students living in off-campus housing or university-owned/affiliated apartments, and graduate/extension students: When students submit a financial aid application (either a FAFSA or CADAA), they will receive a financial aid package that includes funding to cover the cost of food expenses. So, an off-campus meal plan could be paid for by funding received.
• Students who have not yet been billed for their meal plan, but have already received their financial aid refund, would need to use their refund to pay for the meal plan.
• If the cost of the meal plan exceeds what is included in a student’s estimated total cost of attendance to cover food expenses, the student can submit a Cost of Attendance Adjustment Request when the form becomes available in the first few weeks of the fall semester.