wade3

Hey, so I have a qusetion about food in Princeton.

Is food provided in the dorms, or do we have to buy them every time we eat?
Also, if provided in the dorms, is the fee included in the room/board fees?

Thanks =)

tokyorevelation9

Here's how dining works at Princeton for freshmen:

As a freshman, you will get food from your residential college's dining hall because it is a part of the meal plan (of which there are a few options) that you purchase before you arrive at Princeton. Each time you swipe your prox (ID Card) at the dining hall, it deducts one meal "point" from your card. Some students have a plan where they get 20 meals a week, so you cannot exceed that limit until the next week arrives. Others use a 14 meals/week plan, and some use block plans, where you get either 235 or 190 meals per semester. It all depends on your eating preference. You can also get meals at the Frist Campus Center, but you can only use your meal points there during late show meals (late lunch and late dinner, these begin immediately after their respective meals in the residential college dining halls close). The limit on spending to only use a meal point is $5.95 for lunch and $6.95 for dinner. You cannot use more than one meal point at a time, if you go over the allotted amount in Frist, either you charge the rest to your student account, or use Student Points to make up the difference, which are purchased separately.

It is all part of your combined room and board fee, but the depending on the meal plan you get, your fee will vary.

quirkily

also, starting next year, only block meal plans will be offered. you can go with unlimited, which allowed unlimited entry into dining halls and one late-meal swipe per late-meal period, 235 block, and 190 block. (and though this doesn't concern you yet) upperclassmen drawing into residential colleges must go with at least a 95 block plan.

tokyorevelation9

ooh I forgot that the 20 and 14 meals/wk plans were dropped.

ec1234

you can eat in any residential college, usually you will spend most of your time in yours, as it is usually the closest to where you live, but people eat all over.

chrcam

so since im not really familiar offhand with the semester.. does the 235 block plan directly parallel the 20 meal/wk plan, just for the entire semester? or is it more/less avg?

kraor143

i'm not a student at princeton yet but i found this info about the 2007-2008 board plans-- http://facilities.princeton.edu/dini...an_2007-08.htm -- maybe that will help

quirkily

235 is slightly less than 20 meals/week, but usually is just as good because of its flexibility (if you miss a few meals one week, then you can use them another week). likewise, 190 is supposed to match up with 14/week.

frozen-tears

So... some info you might not find on the website --

The meal plans cover only the academic year. If you stay over fall break, winter, intercession, or spring break, there are small meal plans that you can get. They basically cost about the same as if you were to eat on Nassau for the week, and the meals are served in one of the dining halls. Of course, you can still use your points during breaks and anytime. There are also special meal contracts for Passover at the CJL, although the university is pretty considerate and has your standard shmura matzah at all of the dining halls and at Frist (along with other K for P products).

The U-2 convenience store (and of course, the Wawa) is open 24/7 if you get the munchies while studying late, etc. You can't use meals/points there but the U store does stock food from various eateries on Nassau, which is nice when you actually want to eat real food.

frozen-tears

Hm... actually I heard we were campaigning to get prox-swiping at the U-store and on Nassau, but I don't know how that turned out...

Ernie H.

How good, honestly, is the food?

tokyorevelation9

Ha ha ha Ernie honestly thats a very difficult question. Often times the food quality/ selection seems to fluctuate slightly from week to week, but during the week the food is actually pretty decent. Weekend food is somewhat less so, especially on Sunday (aside from Sunday Brunch, which is great).

The Center for Jewish Life has great food for Shabbat Dinner on Friday (and Saturday), and during Meat days the food is quite decent. The dairy days are a bit too limiting. The deserts leave much to be desired, however (understandably) on Meat Days.

Frist Food is usually my favorite, and is often the thing that saves me from going into shock from low blood sugar.

In general, there is a lot of selection, and there are many special food events to which you can go, so if you try, it will be difficult to get bored with the food.

frozen-tears

The food quality/selection does fluctuate, but in my experience it seems as if all of the food on campus is better than what you get at Wilson/Butler even though the menu items may be the same (although maybe I'm just biased). There is just no reason to eat in Wilcox unless you'll miss your meal and starve if you don't eat there.

Having said that, if you eat anywhere on campus other than Wilcox, the food tends to be actually pretty good (with the exception of a few off-days now and then). Sunday brunch is usually very good -- even though it's about the same every week, I still get a little bit excited about it.

Tokyo, if you feel your blood sugar dropping dangerously, come by Mathey sometime with a bag or something and steal ice cream sandwiches from the freezer. :-p

Bentley87

I agree--I definitely get excited about Sunday brunch!

quirkily

err...you're not talking about anyone in particular, are you?