Food!

Wondering what to consider as you choose a Meal Plan for next year? Internal Editor Zoe Sottile helps you eat good. 

Barnard Babes

All full time Barnard students, whether commuters or dorm residents, are required to enroll in a Barnard meal plan. First-years are required to enroll in the Platinum Meal Plan, which gives you hella hella swipes. Specifically, it gives you 19 meals per week as well as 120 points. Points can be used like cash at any Barnard dining location. After freshman year, things change a little bit – you’re given an allotment for the entire semester rather than weekly.

As we discussed in our previous post on Barnard housing, meal plans at Barnard are somewhat linked to your choice of housing. If, come April, you select into a room in the quad – most relevantly Hewitt – or Andersen you are required to enroll in the Upper Class Quad Plan. This is basically the same as the freshman meal plans. You get 150 meals for the semester and 625 points.

If you’re not living in the quad, you have your choice of either those two plans or another four separate plans. There’s an 100-meal plan, a 75-meal plan, a 30-meal plan, and a “Convenience” points-only plan. You can use your meals either for yourself or to swipe in a guest.

Full-time commuters are required to enroll in the Convenience plan, which gives you just 400 points, no swipes, at a minimum. They can opt into other plans. Upperclassmen living on campus are automatically enrolled in the Flex 100 Meal Plan, but can opt into larger or smaller plans.

Columbia students who keep kosher can sign up for a kosher Barnard dining plan. While there is a kosher option for all Columbia dining plans, the Barnard dining plan is a bit more comprehensive, offering 21 swipes a week.

The deadline to drop or change your Barnard meal plan is the fourth day of each semester.

Everyone Else

Columbia students, you sign up for your dining plan on the Columbia Housing Portal. Columbia first-years are required to enroll in one of three extra-special First-Year Dining Plans. But after that, you’re freeeee. Upperclassmen in CC or SEAS, GS students, and grad students can choose from any of 10 different meal plans.

The basic breakdown is that the Plan A options give you lots of meals; the Plan B options give you less; the Plan C and D options are pretty scarce. The EZ plans are a relatively new addition and look more like the First-Year Plans. You’re given meals per week, not per semester.

Kosher and halal options are available for each dining plan at no extra cost; just select the appropriate designation when you sign up.

These dining plans are not required! You can choose to go totally off dining-plan, particularly if you have a nice kitchen in a dorm like Claremont or Watt. For a lot of students, this is a much cheaper option – a swipe at Columbia averages out to around $14. Eat good eat food.

Food via Wikimedia.