Meal plans are accessed via the Penn State id+ Card. When you purchase the meal plan, funds are deposited into your new account. Each time you visit a dining facility operated by Penn State Housing and Food Services, simply present your id+ card to the cashier, who will swipe the card through a reader. The reader will access your account, deduct the proper purchase amount, and display your new account balance.

Plan Costs
The total cost of the meal plan per semester is a combination of two basic components:

1. Base Cost: This represents the non-food costs for operating the food court, such as labor, supplies, maintenance, and utilities. When you purchase a meal plan, you pay the base cost up front for the entire semester.

2. Dining Dollars: This represents the funds available to you for meal purchases throughout the semester.

All menu items have a cash price that includes both the food costs and the base cost of operation. Since Meal Plan members pay this base cost up front for the entire semester, on-campus dining purchases are significantly discounted with each visit. As a result, on-campus dining purchases are significantly discounted with each visit. Meal Plan members receive a special set rate when purchasing meals at Stacks Market, the campus food court. Purchases made at Biscotti’s will receive a 10 percent discount off the cash price of prepared food purchases. For certain items, such as prepackaged vendor items, no discount is given.

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Meal Plan Rate

Plan	Dining Dollars	Total Cost
1	$495	$1,735

Rates are per semester for the 2009-2010 academic year.

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Purchasing a Plan
A Campus Meal Plan may be purchased using the downloadable Contract Card. Submit the Contract Card to the Housing and Food Services Office. The cost will be charged to your Bursar account (semester bill), unless you mail the Contract Card with a check made payable to The Pennsylvania State University. Please note – if you are submitting the payment after the beginning of the semester, the meal plan cost will be prorated. Any extra money that you pay would be deposited into your student account.

When you purchase the Campus Meal Plan, you must do so for an entire semester. The Campus Meal Plan is binding for the semester and balances are not refundable. If you withdraw from the University, the remainder of dining dollars and a percentage of the base cost (based on University refund chart) will be credited to your Bursar account.

Printable Contract Card
View a downloadable meal plan Contract Card. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the file. If you are unable to open this file, please call or visit the Housing and Food Services Office for a contract.

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Adding Dining Dollars
After opening an account, you may add funds at any time. To add funds:
    • Visit id+ Online, where you can pay with MasterCard or Visa.
    • Visit the Housing and Food Services Office, where you can pay with
       cash or check.
    • Visit the Housing and Food Services cash register to pay with cash.

Leftover Dining Dollars
Leftover funds at the end of fall semester will be carried over to spring semester only if the meal plan is purchased within the first two weeks of spring semester. A smaller meal plan level may be purchased for spring. On-campus students are required to purchase the meal plan for both fall and spring semesters. If you do not purchase the meal plan by the end of the second week of spring semester, any leftover funds from fall will be forfeited. Leftover funds do not carry over from spring semester and are forfeited.

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