Students eating in dining hall

Meal plans

Purchase a 5- or 7- day meal plan and enjoy unlimited access to our award-winning, all-you-care-to-eat Dining Hall. All meal plans, including the flexible pay-as-you-go and block plans, are seamlessly loaded onto your uOttawa student card for ultimate convenience.

Meal plans offered at uOttawa

The University of Ottawa offers four types of meal plans available to all students:

  • The 7-day meal plan: Best value, with unlimited access to the Dining Hall.
  • The 5-day meal plan: Unlimited Monday to Friday access to the Dining Hall. Available to all students, and mandatory for students living in six uOttawa residences as listed below.
  • Pay-as-you-go plan: A tax-free declining balance plan that can be used at any food location on campus, including the Dining Hall.
  • Block plan: A declining balance plan that can be used at the Dining Hall.

Note: Six residences have a mandatory 5-day meal plan. You can upgrade to the 7-day plan for maximum convenience.

  • Leblanc
  • Marchand
  • Stanton
  • Thompson
  • Henderson 

Meal plans: costs and benefits

a meal

Unlimited meal plans: 7-day and 5-day plans

5- and 7-day meal plans offer best value for money with unlimited entry and access to the Dining Hall!

The 5-day and 7-day plans are available to all students whether living on or off campus. The 5-day plan is mandatory at Leblanc, Marchand, Stanton, Thompson and Henderson and can be upgraded to an unlimited 7-day plan to include weekend dining.

Costs:

  • 7-day meal plan: $7,500
  • 5-day meal plan: $6,825

Boxed lunch

Holders of 5- or 7-day meal plans with five or more hours of consecutive classes or off-campus placements are eligible for the boxed lunch program. To register, email [email protected] with proof of eligibility (e.g., class schedule, co-op program, etc.). Once registered, place orders by 5 p.m. the day before pick-up. Your lunch will be ready with the Dining Hall cashiers any time after 7 a.m.

5- and 7-day meal plans are available to all students, including those not living in residence.

A person looking at their phone while eating a meal

Pay-as-you-go plan

The pay-as-you-go plan is great for those with more flexible requirements that want to manage their spending with pre-paid and on-the-go access to any food locations on campus, including the Dining Hall.

Pay-as-you-go is a tax free plan that allows students to manage food finances with a declining balance on your uOttawa card where the majority of funds are reserved for eating on campus (a.k.a. Dining Dollars) alongside a smaller balance (Flex dollars) that can be used to shop all around campus, including cafes, the campus bookstore, printing services and more. This is available to all students.

Costs:

  • Pay-as-you-go meal plan: $4,850
  • $4,150 Dining Dollars and $700 Flex dollars
  • Flex dollars can be added any time.
A plate of rice and vegetables

Block plan: 50, 75 or 100 entries

Block plans grant you a set number of entries to at the Dining Hall. Simply purchase the desired number of entries and these are added to your uOttawa card: 50 entries, 75 entries or 100 entries. A great option for those living off-campus that want to ensure they are budgeted for a reliable one-meal-a-day option allowing to save on the regular door rate and ensure food needs are covered. Available to all students.

Cost of Block meal plans:

  • 50 entries $996
  • 75 entries $1,476
  • 100 entries $1,836
A plate of food

Dining dollars and Flex dollars

Dining dollars (meal plan holders only) and Flex dollars (all students) are funds loaded on the uOttawa card. Parents may also load funds to their dependant’s uOttawa card using the online portal.

Dining dollars are a tax-free currency to purchase food prepared on campus at all campus food locations. Dining dollars are available only to meal plan holders. At the end of the term, unused dining dollars are converted to Flex dollars. Minus applicable taxes and an admin fee of $25.

Flex dollars allow students to pay from their uOttawa Card for food as well as books, printing, photocopying and much more. To make budgeting easier and ensure funds are dedicated to meeting dining and academic needs, add Flex dollars to your or your dependant’s uOttawa card.

Food at the Dining Hall

Use the Dining Hall without a meal plan

Enjoy the Dining Hall as a visitor whenever you like.

Find the hours and drop in costs on the Dining Hall webpage.

Exemptions to mandatory meal plans

Dietary restrictions and allergies

Requests for exemptions from the mandatory meal plan are only accepted for the following reasons:

  • Multiple food allergies that can’t be accommodated by the Dietary Restriction Program.
  • Religious reasons (e.g., kosher diet)
  • Physician-prescribed diet that can’t be accommodated by Food Services.

If one of the above applies to you, we recommend selecting a residence that doesn’t have a mandatory meal plan.

To submit a request for exemption, contact our dietitian to confirm your request is eligible. You may be asked for supporting documents.

It may take up to ten business days to process a request and, if supporting documents aren’t considered sufficient, an evaluation by a University of Ottawa health care professional and allergy tests may be needed. These steps may delay processing. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, and exemptions cannot be guaranteed.

Approved exemptions entitle you to a refund for the cost of the meal plan, calculated on the date access to the Dining Hall ended.