History of Little 500

Dining halls and meal plans at IU explained

By Christina Avery

averycm@iu.edu | @christym_avery

Learning where and how to get food on a college campus is just one of the learning curves students face when coming to IU for the first time. With multiple stores, dining halls and meal plans offered at IU, new students may find it difficult to determine what meal plan to purchase, how to use it and where they can go to eat on campus.

IU Dining is offering new meal plans for the 2022-23 school year. These plans are designed to provide easy access to food across campus, and offer a few different options for where a student wishes to eat and how they want to pay.

There are three seven-day meal plans: classic, expanded and max. Each plan is a different price.

With classic, students get unlimited meal scans at all-you-care-to-eat dining halls. They also get three meal exchanges per week to use at pay-as-you-go locations, and 50 dining dollars per semester to use at these locations. With meal exchanges, students can exchange an all-youcare-to-eat meal scan for a combo meal at Bookmarket Eatery, Campus Cafes, Campus Stores or the Indiana Memorial Union.

The classic meal plan costs $3,914 per year.

With the seven-day expanded plan, students also get unlimited meal scans at all-you-care-toeat locations, along with four meal exchanges per week and 250 dining dollars per semester. This plan costs $4,429 per year.

The seven-day max plan offers unlimited meal scans, five meal exchanges per week and 450 dining dollars per semester. The max plan comes in at $4,944 per year.

Another option is the IU five-weekday meal plan, which offers unlimited meal scans, three meal exchanges per week and 200 dining dollars per semester. This plan costs $3,914 per year.

There is also an optional meal scan plan, which includes 100 meal scans or meal exchanges each semester — students can choose how to use their scans. This plan also comes with 150 dining dollars each semester. Any enrolled student may purchase this plan. This plan costs $3,296 per year.

All students living in a residence hall or furnished apartment on campus for the first time are required to choose one of the seven-day meal plans or the five-weekday plan when they complete a housing application.

When selecting which plan to buy, students may want to consider the cost of the plan with their budget, how much food they need and how often they plan to purchase food from a dining hall. All-you-care-to-eat dining halls allow students to use one scan for unlimited servings of food each time they visit. At pay-as-you-go locations, students can use dining dollars, CrimsonCash or credit cards. They can also use meal exchanges.

There are multiple locations to grab food and purchase essentials on campus. Here is a list of options.

Eateries

There are several dining halls on IU’s campus.

All-you-care-to-eat options include Forest Quad, Goodbody Hall, McNutt Quad, Wright Quad and Collins Living-Learning Center.

Pay-as-you-go options include Bookmarket Eatery in Wells Library and the Indiana Memorial Union.

Campus Cafes

For a quick bite or caffeine boost, there are multiple cafes around campus offering a variety of options including quick packaged foods, coffee and pastries, and sandwiches and pizza.

All Campus Cafes are pay-as-you-go.

Campus Cafes can be found in Ballantine Hall, the Biology Building, Eigenmann Hall, the Eskenazi Museum of Art, Hodge Hall, Luddy Hall, the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and Wright School of Education.

Campus Stores

Campus stores are great for grabbing lunch between classes, stocking up on snacks and even shopping for groceries. Similar to convenience stores, these locations offer packaged and frozen foods, produce, baking supplies, school supplies and over-the-counter medications. In some stores, you can find fresh hot food, deli sandwiches and subs, and prepared meals.

Campus stores are also pay-as-you-go.

Campus stores are located at Briscoe Quad, McNutt Quad, Union Street Center, Willkie Quad and Wright Quad.

Indiana Memorial Union

The Indiana Memorial Union is a central hub for study spots and student activities. If hunger strikes during a study session or you feel like grabbing dinner with friends, the IMU has plenty of options available.

The Indiana Memorial Union is a pay-as-yougo location.

Main level:

Sugar & Spice Bakery

Grab a drink and a pastry at Sugar & Spice. The bakery offers both hot and cold coffees, teas and hot chocolate alongside pastries like donuts and croissants.

The Chocolate Moose

A Bloomington favorite for ice cream, the Chocolate Moose offers scoops, sundaes, milkshakes and more. It’s located right next to Sugar & Spice on the main level of the IMU. The Globe

The Globe offers a rotating menu of lunch and dinner options from local restaurants, spanning a variety of global cuisines.

Lantern

If you’re craving Pan-Asian food, you can find dishes such as teriyaki chicken, samosas and Thai wings at Lantern.

The Mix

In the mood for something refreshing? Try the Mix, a soup and salad bar where you can build your own bowl.

Quarry Pie Co.

Quarry Pie Co. prepares fresh pizza on-site in fire ovens. Salads, meatballs and cheesy bread are also available.

Whitfield Grill

With burgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches and more, Whitfield Grill offers the flavors of the classic American diner.

Union Market

Stop in to Union Market to buy pre-packaged, grab-and-go foods like snacks, drinks and sandwiches. The market also offers gift and necessity items.

First floor:

The Tudor Room

For a more traditional sit-down dining experience, head to the Tudor Room, where you’ll be served a meal complete with china, table linens and waiters.

Starbucks

Pick up your favorite drink right inside the Indiana Memorial Union.

Students line up at Fusion on Tuesday at Woodlands Dining Hall in Forest Quad.

IDS FILE PHOTO

An RPS employee works Nov. 13, 2018, at Wright Quad.

IDS FILE PHOTO BY ALEX DERYN