Traditional Residence Meal Plans

Note: Meal plan savings are only applicable during the term which the meal plan was purchased.

Hearty: Choose this option if you’re planning to eat on campus seven days a week or have a big appetite.

Average: Our most popular plan! For those who will eat most meals on campus, with one or two a week elsewhere.

Lite: Typically for students who go home on weekends or are light eaters.

All Traditional meal plans are tax exempt saving you 13% at the register!

*Students with Traditional Meal Plans will receive a 50% reduction at the register, reflecting the adjustment for overhead deduction

Traditional A: The perfect plan for those staying for weekends or who just can’t get enough of our delicious food. Enjoy a hassle-free dining experience with ample meal plan dollars, plus flex dollars for snacks, laundry, or even some W Store swag.

Traditional B: Ideal for students who primarily dine on campus but enjoy the occasional meal off campus or the occasional trip home on the weekends. This plan will provide you with the perfect balance of convenience and flexibility - plus flex dollars for snacks, laundry, or even W Store swag.

Traditional C: Perfect for students who leave campus most weekends. This plan will provide you flexibility while ensuring you have meals covered during the week.

This portion is reserved for meal purchases at all UW Food Services locations. For Traditional and Advantage A meal plan holders, enjoy tax-exempt savings and 50% off the set price every time you purchase food with your meal plan—helping to balance the overhead deduction!

Flex dollars can be used at non-Food Services locations such as laundry, vending machines, W Print and W Store. They can also be used at various off-campus partner restaurants.

This is an upfront deduction to help cover the cost of providing a top-notch meal plan program. It is taken at the start of the term, and in return, you receive a 50% price reduction on purchases at UW Food Services locations, ensuring full purchasing power throughout the term.

A non-refundable charge that goes towards UW Food Services' dining environments, facilities and equipment. It is deducted from the meal plan cost and cannot be used to make food purchases.

At any one of our 25+ locations, including residence dining halls, cafés, and eateries across campus, your meal plan makes dining easy and convenient. This plan helps you save time and build community as you eat with your peers. Plus, your meal plan dollars are accepted at on-campus franchises, giving you even more variety in your daily meals.

Flex dollars are used for additional on-campus services such as vending, laundry, buying textbooks, goods from W Store, and even for buying food at participating off-campus Flex Partners. That means you can use your Flex Dollars towards a meal at restaurants like Score Pizza or Williams Fresh Café!

Food services can accommodate most common dietary needs and priority food allergens including vegan, vegetarian, halal, gluten and dairy. Our key message to students coming to Waterloo with food allergies or serious dietary restrictions is to self-identify! If you have a food allergy or dietary restriction, please contact Food Services before you move in. We will set up a meeting with your residence Chef and our Registered Dietitian to review available options and make sure you feel comfortable dining at Waterloo.

Please also complete the Housing Disability Verification Form to ensure housing accommodations. First-year students must register by June 1 to be a part of the Residence Guarantee application. Please be sure to check off that you are registered with AccessAbility Services when you fill out your Residence Community Ranking Form.

Any money remaining on your WatCard will automatically carry forward each term for as long as you are a student at UWaterloo.

Your meal plan discount only applies during the term in which you have purchased your meal plan. However, when you purchase a meal plan during a subsequent term, any meal plan money that has carried forward from a previous term will receive your current applicable discount. 

Residence meal plan money transfers to your Transfer Meal Plan (MP) account to be spent at a UW Food Services eatery only and do notbecome Flex Dollars. Any purchases you make at a UW Food Services location using Flex Dollars or Transfer MP Dollars are not HST exempt.

Federal and Provincial tax legislation prohibits the use of tax-exempt meal plan funds by individuals who are not qualified to receive these benefits. Only the WatCard holder may purchase meals. WatCard holders purchasing more than one meal at a time will be charged appropriate taxes on the meal with the lower value. All applicable discounts will be applied before taxes. For each transaction, the cashier will examine the photo on the WatCard to ensure that the person making the purchase is the WatCard holder. In all cases where the cashier suspects that somebody is using a WatCard other than the cardholder, the cashier must keep the card and prevent its use. The WatCard will be forwarded to the WatCard Office within four hours where it can be picked up by the proper cardholder at that time, or the next business day. Fraudulent use of WatCard funds to purchase food for other people may result in the loss of all discount and tax exemption privileges. The security of a WatCard remains the cardholder’s responsibility. WatCards should be treated like a credit or debit card. If a WatCard is lost or stolen the cardholder is responsible for all charges made to that card until the card is reported lost or stolen. A WatCard can be reported lost or stolen at any WatCard cash register on campus, at the WatCard Office, or online at the WatCard homepage. All WatCards are the property of the University of Waterloo.