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About Food Service

Food Service staff work daily in each dining center across the Commonwealth to provide a safe, quality dining experience for the campus community. This includes serving food in a variety of settings such as made-to-order, à la carte, all-you-care-to-eat, and convenience stores. All campus food services operations support a variety of dietary needs including vegetarian/vegan food items, food intolerances, allergies, and religious observations. Learn more about useful tools to navigate dining at Penn State.

Students who have special dietary needs or food allergies can request assistance from the University’s Registered Dietitian office.

Meal Plan Options

• Students living in the residence halls must purchase a Campus Meal Plan each semester and is a part of the HFS Contract. Students living in a campus apartment or off campus have the option to purchase the plan as well.
• The Campus Meal Plan is a declining account balance, where the cost of your student’s meal is deducted when a purchase is made. The Campus Meal Plan is comprised of two cost components: Base Cost (covers non-food costs such as operating the dining commons, i.e. labor, supplies, maintenance, and utilities); and Dining Dollars (amount available to make purchases)
• There are three levels available, with the HFS Contract defaulting to level two
• Your student can adjust their Campus Meal Plan level in eLiving until the last day of finals, so it is recommended to start with a level two and then adjust depending upon your student’s purchase habits
• Off-campus students can either add funds to LionCash or purchase the Commuter Meal Plan (which can be charged to your student’s LionPATH account) to enjoy a variety of choices and convenient locations. Enrolled undergraduate and graduate students are also eligible to purchase the plan, and there are three levels of dining dollars to choose from.

Both meal plans can be used at all on-campus dining locations. The discount structure for purchases will depend upon:

1. the type of dining facility (all-you-care-to-eat is a set price, a la carte operations items are discounted) and
2. items purchased (branded and pre-packaged items are not eligible for a discount).

Watch the following video to learn more about the Campus Meal Plan.

Coaching Tip

Talk to your student about budgeting their dining dollars. While more can be added, it’s a great life skill to work on in a supportive environment.

Encourage your student to download the Penn State Go app and use the “Dining” widget to view on-campus dining options, hours, and food service menus. The Penn State Eats app is also available through the dining widget, so your student can order food in advance!