If you are in a small school with only 2 food courts, and every day you have pretty much same catfish, pork, pasta, chicken, pizza, and gravy, will you be happy? Some options are fine for a day or a week, but same things again and again fot 9 months…
In term of medical insurance in some schools it is opt in and in others it is opt out. With opt out, if you did not uploaded documents for your insurance by certain day (way before tuition is due), health insurance is rolled in into semester cost WITHOUT option to cancel it!
Actually some “online money makers” are extremely transparent and great value. One of my kids is in online for profit program. It is great. Everything listed upfront. No surprises. You know exactly what is going to happen and what you are paying for. Actually in our case it is significantly cheaper than in person with great value - industry standard certificates at the end of each course.
We are in a similar or maybe opposite situation, with dual citizenship (for both daughters and I) but living in the US. This does mean that we are in-state at least somewhere.
I have to wonder: Why? Why is your son intending to study in the US?
I’m assuming for most international students, school/college healthcare is mandatory, since any insurance from their home country would not most likely not be valid in the US. The OP is from Canada, so assuming they are also considered international (sorry don’t know), and the question would be if their insurance would be valid for a student residing in the US for 9 months of the year (may be valid for short trips into the US, but not extended stays), therefore most likely a mandatory purchase unless they can appeal and prove otherwise.
I can’t imagine many colleges are willing to guarantee the quality of the food, other than it will be safe to eat 
. Some colleges are known for really good food. Some colleges are known for awful food. Most are somewhere in between.
Hopefully picking the lowest cost food plan is an option, not just one flat fee. Some schools we visited have “all you can eat” as you get a swipe per visit, and others charge per item like a normal restaurant. Almost all suggest buying the lowest option, as you can always add money, but you can’t carryover at the end of the year, and end up buying a bunch of junk food to spend the remaining balance.
DD and her roomate say that they faced pink chicken and almost raw pasta many times and refused to eat it… There was also sour milk regularly. Food service has always excuses, but I somehow trust DD more who is very good cook and does not like to complain.
How many colleges does your D attend?
I have 3 kids, and two daughters. 
Also, including summers my kids attended 6 different colleges.
I have two kids who attended different colleges. Neither ever got food poisoning at college. So a sample of 2. Both attended various college summer programs. What’s your point?
Food poisoning can happen at a 3 star michelin restaurant. College students are more likely to get alcohol poisoning than food poisoning.
Generally speaking, students need nutritious, safe food at college, which is what 99% of them get.
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0 alcohol issues so far
I’ll assume we’re done debating various data points of one. Or 2. Or 3.
I wish that would be option everywhere. Many colleages do not allow any option but unlimited for freshman living on campus from our experience.
My son has opportunities to play Div 1 ACHA hockey. Got some good merit awards which make it reasonably affordable. Maine has in-state rates for Canadian residents. Florida has a special scholarship award to make it in-state for Canadian (you have to apply).
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Recently, there was a story of University of Toronto being threatened with a lawsuit regarding meal plans. Students with prepaid plans were arguing that the “dining halls” were closed too often which made it impossible for them to use their plans. School refused to refund or carryforward balances to next year. So it happens in Canada too. And in some places, the menu options are beyond horrible.
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Congratulations to your son! I remember you asking questions here months ago and it’s great that your son has some good opportunities for hockey in the states.
I agree with your meal plan comments. For athletes, things like high fructose corn syrup in condiments, for example, can get in the way of their training requirements. Sure, you can say, “eat healthy at the salad bar!” but that’s not always so simple.
Not being able to have meals that work for you can also be a problem for diabetics, those with allergies, students with sluggish metabolisms - any number of students. It’s a legitimate observation.
I’ve seen more pink chicken photos than anything else on college parent Facebook pages, food is still way better than in my day. I contribute $0 to my kids for outside food. I ate burgers floating in water, they’re eating sushi and paninis, and when they move off campus with no meal plan, they’re begging friends for guest swipes.
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I was talking to someone who investigated food poisoning at restaurants, 99% of the time nothing was found. Kids cry food poisoning all of the time at colleges, the vast majority of the time it’s viral, if they even bothered to get a stool sample. Heck one of my kids insisted he had food poisoning from bad chicken, got tested, no food poisoning. Viruses spread like fire in dorms.
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My student is still considering 12 of the 15 schools he applied to - it will all come down to the best school that offers the most money/value. I have researched each one of the schools and have their prices figured out as close as I can get them so we can make accurate financial choices. There is a lot of variation with meal plans and tuition. Many of the schools he’s looking at offer flat rate tuition for a full-time course load, usually full-time is 12 hours and there is a cap of 15, 18 or 21 hours per semester. Most have 18 as a cap but many have the lower cap of 15 for freshmen. There are some schools that charge by credit hour and a lot of schools that have different rates depending on the program. For meal plans, many schools have options. When I went to school, I had a 10-meal-per-week plan because it was the cheapest. It was not enough. Wherever my student goes, he’ll get the all-you-can-eat regardless of the cost. Also, most schools allow you to eat in their dining halls during visits and you can check them out for yourself. I’ve been impressed by all of the ones we’ve seen but, more importantly, so has my student.
Health insurance is probably the trickiest for international students, but it is a legal issue for the college.