Meal Plan Policy
- All students living on campus are required to have a full meal plan.
- Students are only given the partial meal plan option if they are living off campus, student teaching, doing clinicals through the Nursing Department, taking a practicum through the Social Work Department, or have DAC accommodations.
- Only students who live off campus live or have DAC accommodations are allowed to drop the meal plan.
- The deadline to change your meal plan is 4:00 pm on the 3rd business day of the term.
- There are no refunds given for unused meals or Flex Dollars.
- For support with specific dietary requirements, see the Procedures for Meal Plan Support.
How to Change Your Meal Plan Selection
- Log into SIS and go to the Financials tab.
- Click on the drop-down menu in the upper right corner and select “Meal Plan.” This will bring you to the page where you can select or change your meal plan.
- Make sure to click “Ok” if you update your meal plan so that the change is saved.
2025-2026 Meal Plan Options
Full Meal Plan Option – $7,480 for the year or $3,740 per semester
Students get a certain number of meals per week based on their selected plan. Each week begins at Friday breakfast and ends after Thursday dinner. Any unused meals for the week are forfeited and do not carry over. Any unused Flex Dollars at the end of the term do not carry over and will not be refunded.
| Plan | Semester Flex Dollars* | January Flex Dollars* |
| 21 Meal Plan | $0 | $0 |
| 17 Meal Plan | $170 | $40 |
| 14 Meal Plan | $240 | $60 |
*Flex Dollars are extra funds attached to the meal plan that can be used at the Cage, Stav Hall, and the Kings Room. Students should carefully budget their Flex Dollars, so they don’t spend them all early in the semester and then not have the Flex Dollars to supplement the cafeteria meals when needed.
Students must use their Ole Card to access their meal plan and utilize Stav and Bag lunch as well as use Flex Dollars. If you have lost your Ole card, you should report your card as lost and make arrangements with dining services to eat until your new card is ready.
Partial Meal Plan Option – $3,740 for the year or $1,870 per semester
Students are only given the partial meal plan option if they are living off campus, student teaching, doing clinicals through the Nursing Department, taking a practicum through the Social Work Department, or have DAC accommodations.
Students on the partial meal plan receive a block of meals to use each term. Meals are not restricted to a week usage.
| Plan | Semester Meals | Semester Flex Dollars* | January Meals | January Flex Dollars* |
| Partial Meal Plan | 90 | $205 | 30 | $40 |
No Meal Plan Option – Only students who live off campus in non-St. Olaf housing are allowed to drop the meal plan. Students must select the “no meal plan” option in SIS. If you drop the meal plan before the selection deadline, but you have used your plan, you will be billed a pro-rated amount based on the amount of meals and Flex Dollars used.
Summer 2026 Meal Plans
Summer meal plans are optional. You are not required to have a summer meal plan if you are on campus over the summer. Each meal plan has a set number of meals to use over the course of the entire summer 5/24/2026 – 8/26/2026. If you run out of meals you can add an additional meal plan by contacting the student accounts office. There are no refunds for unused meals. Once the summer session starts or the meal plans are used, the plan cannot be dropped, switched or refunded. Stav hours vary over the summer and may not be available for every meal.
Stav Hall Summer 2026 Calendar (subject to change)
| Meal Plan | Cost |
| 100 Meals | $1,090 |
| 75 Meals | $860 |
| 50 Meals | $600 |
| 30 Meals | $380 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the differences between the full meal plan options?There are three full meal plan options, the 21 meal plan, 17 meal plan, and 14 meal plan. Each plan comes with a different number of meals allocated to students each week.
The plans all cost the same, but the 17 and 14 meal plans include Flex Dollars, which are extra funds that can be used at a few places on campus including the Cage, Stav Hall, and the Kings Room.
Students that prefer to eat three meals a day in the cafeteria should consider the 21 meal plan.
Students who will eat the majority of their meals in the cafeteria, but may miss a couple meals here and there should consider the 17 meal plan.
Students who only eat two meals a day in the cafeteria should consider the 14 meal plan. This plan is best for students whose schedules may conflict with the cafeteria hours or who prefer to have more Flex Dollars at locations other than the cafeteria.
No, students living in on-campus housing must be on one of the three full meal plan options.
Students may only select the partial meal plan option if they are living off campus, student teaching, doing clinicals through the Nursing Department, taking a practicum through the Social Work Department, or have DAC accommodations.
Students may only be off of the meal plan if they live off campus in non-St. Olaf housing or have DAC accommodations.
For support with specific dietary requirements, see the Procedures for Meal Plan Support.
January Term meal plans are provided at no additional charge for students who have a meal plan during fall and/or spring semester. Because there is no additional charge, there are no refunds given for students who do not use their meal plan over the January Term.
The January Term meal plan will default to the plan elected for fall semester, or the plan elected for spring semester if the student didn’t attend in the fall.
If you do not have a meal plan for fall or spring, the cost to have a meal plan for January Term is $748.
January Term meal plans are NOT provided for students who graduate or leave after fall semester and who are not registered for January Term or spring semester.
Fall meal plans begin on the Thursday before classes start and end on the last day of fall finals.
January Term meal plans begin the day after the fall meal plan ends (after fall finals) and end on the last day of January Term finals.
Spring meal plans begin the day after the January Term meal plan ends (after January finals) and end on the last day of spring finals. Meal swipes can continue to be used after spring finals through Commencement day for students on meal plans who remain on campus during that time.
Stav Hall is typically open for lunch and dinner over breaks, which is included in the cost of the meal plan. The cafeteria occasionally closes on a holiday or break (e.g., a couple of days for Thanksgiving or Christmas break), during which time the College will provide alternative meal options for students on meal plans, such as additional dollars to use at the Cage, pack-out meals, or a pantry.
Visit Housing/Meal Plan Options Over Breaks for more information on when the plans are valid for use.
Students enrolled in study abroad/away programs are not required to have a meal plan for the term(s) they are off-campus.
There are no refunds given for unused meals or Flex Dollars. The only time a refund is given is if a student fully withdraws from the college part of the way through the term. Students who receive meal plan accommodations after the start of the semester may be eligible for a refund prorated based on our Refund Policy. The refund policy for those situations is listed at STO-55.