Meal Plans, Food Allergies, and Meal Accommodations Policy
New First-year Students Living in the Residence Halls
All first-year students living in residence halls must be on the 18 or 14 traditional meal plan or the 210 or 160 block meal plan. This requirement allows first-year students to focus on their studies. This policy is also in place because the residence hall kitchens are unable to support every student cooking their own food. All other undergraduate students living in the residence halls must be on an 18, 14, or 10 traditional meal plan or the 210 or 160 block plan. Undergraduate students living in residence halls are not eligible to enroll in the 65 block plan. All undergraduate students living in residence halls are automatically assigned an 18-meal plan for the fall semester, but students may request a meal plan change until 4:30 p.m. on the Friday of the first week of classes. In order to ensure accurate fall billing, we encourage students to submit meal plan requests for the fall semester by the end of June. Meal plans may be requested or changed on the housing/meal plan portal.
Undergraduates Living in College-Owned Apartments or Houses
Meal plans are optional for students living in College-owned apartments or houses. All undergraduate students living in College-owned apartments or houses who have not selected a meal plan will automatically receive an 18-meal plan for the fall semester. Students may request not to have a meal plan or make a meal plan change, until 4:30 p.m. on the Friday of the first week of classes. These students can sign up for an 18, 14, or 10 traditional meal plan for 210 or 160 block plan. Undergraduate students are also eligible for the 65 block meal plan if they are living in campus apartments or houses. However, for undergraduate students, the unused meals from the 65 meal plan expire at the end of each semester and therefore any unused meals are forfeited, even if another block plan is purchased. The 65 meal plan does not include ThunderBucks. In order to ensure accurate fall billing, we encourage students to submit meal plan requests for the fall semester by mid-June. Meal plans may be requested or changed at the housing/meal plan portal.
Undergraduates Living Off Campus in Non-College-Owned Apartments or Houses
Meal plans are optional for undergraduates living off-campus in non-College-owned apartments or houses. These students are not automatically enrolled in a meal plan. If they wish, these students may enroll in the 18, 14, or 10 traditional meal plan or 210, 160 or 65 block meal plan. Meal plans may be requested or changed at the housing/meal plan portal until 4:30 p.m. on Friday of the first week of classes.
Graduate Students
The 65 meal plan is ideal for graduate students. For graduate students only, unused fall meals roll over into the spring semester. Once all 65 meals are used, an additional 65 meal plan may be purchased at any time. For graduate students the 65 meal plan expires at the end of the academic year and any unused meals are forfeited at that time. The 65 meal plan does not include ThunderBucks. Meal plans may be requested or changed at the housing/meal plan portal.
Meal Plan Procedures, Policies, and Explanations
The meal plan a student chooses for the fall semester is automatically applied to the spring semester unless they change it via the housing/meal plan portal. Changes must be made by 4:30 p.m. on the first Friday of the spring semester. Students with questions about this process may contact housing.services@wheaton.edu. Any communication about meal plan changes to Student Financial Services or the Wheaton Installment Program will not be honored.
Traditional Plans
Bon Appetit serves 18 meals a week: Monday through Friday (5) Breakfast, (5) Lunch, and (5) Dinner; on Saturday (1) Brunch and (1) Dinner; and on Sunday (1) Brunch. We also open the Stupe on Sunday nights for a meal. Students on a meal plan, and who have meals available, may use a meal Sunday night at the Stupe- or pay with ThunderBucks. Traditional plans are offered in 18, 14, or 10 meals a week increments and come with $50 worth of ThunderBucks. On the traditional plans, no guest or other student can use the student’s meals at any time. The maximum numbers of meal swipes per day is three on the weekdays and two on the weekends, and the maximum number of swipes per meal is one.
Block Plans
Block plans offer students a set-number of meals they can use any time, and as often as they wish, until they have used up all the meals. With the 210 and 160 block plan, students may use the meals in their plan at any time during the semester as needed, and unused blocks from the fall semester can carry forward to the spring semester as long as another 210 or 160 block plan is purchased. Students may also use their block plans to purchase meals for family and friends. All unused block meals are forfeited at the end of the school year. The 210 and 160 block plans do not have the same amount of meals as the 18 and 14 Traditional meal plans. If a 210 or 160 block plan is chosen and the student runs out of meals before the end of the semester, please note that ThunderBucks must be purchased to pay for any remaining meals in the semester. Students still must not lend their ID card to anyone for use in the cafes; they must be present with their card to use the plan for any guest. Undergraduate students are eligible for the 65 meal plan if they are living in campus apartments or houses or off campus. For undergraduate students, however, the unused meals from the 65 meal plan expire at the end of each semester and therefore any unused meals are forfeited, even if another block plan is purchased. The 65 meal plan does not include ThunderBucks. Students can learn how many meals they have remaining by asking a Bon Appetit cashier.
ThunderBucks and ThunderBucks Plus
ThunderBucks are dollars that are included in all meal plans, with the exception of the 65 block plan. ThunderBucks may be used in Anderson Commons, Sam’s, and The Stupe. Using ThunderBucks in Anderson Commons offers a special discounted price (ThunderBucks Price) for meals in that cafe. Unused ThunderBucks from the fall semester “roll over” and are added to the ThunderBucks received for the spring semester meal plan when a meal plan with ThunderBucks is selected. All ThunderBucks expire at the end of the academic year.
ThunderBucks Plus are discretionary dollars that may be added to a student’s ID card, if the student has a formal meal plan. Students without a formal meal plan cannot add ThunderBucks Plus to their ID card. ThunderBucks Plus may be used in Anderson Commons, Sam’s, and The Stupe, in lower Beamer Center. ThunderBucks Plus do not expire until a student leaves Wheaton. Students, and their parents, may add ThunderBucks Plus to their student ID cards at any of the dining facilities.
Dining Hall Alternatives
The Stupe is a dining option on the board plan which means that students eating lunch or dinner can use their traditional or block meals to pay for their meal at this venue. ThunderBucks, cash, or credit cards are also accepted in The Stupe. Sam’s is the premiere retail venue on campus with an assortment of grab-n-go offerings. Sam’s accepts ThunderBucks, ThunderBucks Plus, cash, Visa or MasterCard.
Food Allergies, Dietary Restrictions, and Meal Accommodations
Wheaton College recognizes that students with a documented disability or medical condition that qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may require accommodations to fully participate in the residential and dining component of campus life.
Students with dietary restrictions or food allergies should inform Bon Appetit, the food service contractor for Wheaton College, about any dietary requirements or food allergies. The Manager will then communicate what Bon Appetit is or is not able to do to meet those requirements. If after speaking with the Bon Appetit Dining Team and exploring options within the café, including SimplyOASIS, a student requires additional assistance in meeting his/her dietary needs, s/he should reach out to Learning & Accessibility Services (LAS) at las@wheaton.edu to explore further options for individualization and possible accommodations. Students who may be eligible for an ADA accommodation should be prepared to provide LAS with supporting documentation from a relevant health provider.
Any Wheaton student who believes s/he has been wrongfully denied reasonable accommodations may utilize the ADA Grievance Procedure.