The new school year at U of T is now in full swing, which means so are the ovens, stovetops, fridges, and pantries that produce the daily dining hall food enjoyed by thousands of students across campuses. Whether you’re settling in for a few hours of dining and studying at Trinity College’s Hogwarts-esque dining hall or popping into the Arbor Room for a quick bite before class, you can use your meal plan dollars all around U of T.
Meal plans are meant to serve students not only food, but also convenient and accessible on-campus dining options. However, these plans have sparked many concerns among students about the flexibility, resourcefulness, and value of their meal plans — all in relation to the common issue of leftover meal plan money.
Students have continuously agreed upon the issue; the end of the academic year is approaching, and they have way too much money left on their meal plans. One student took to the r/UofT Reddit page to express their frustration with having $4,000 left over on their meal plan, and only 15 days left in the term to spend it all. A similar situation had a student stressed with only six days to spend $650 at their dining hall.
These frequent scenarios have led to questions that linger in many students’ minds: Why do so many of us have so much money left over on our meal plans? Is the U of T meal plan truly worth the cost? What has U of T done, if anything, to address this?
The basics: How meal plans work
By looking at the basics of meal plan requirements for each U of T campus, we can start to understand why leftover meal plan money is such a common issue.
All three campuses have mandatory meal plans under certain terms. Some of UTSG’s colleges have mandatory meal plans for residents. These include Chestnut Residence, CampusOne Residence, Knox Residence, New College, Oak House, St. Michael’s College, Trinity College, University College, and Victoria College. For students living in residence, there are two types of meal plans available: the “declining balance” meal plan and the “all-you care-to-eat” meal plan.
With a declining balance meal plan, students are given a fixed balance that declines as they get more meals, depending on the number and kinds of meals they get. Alternatively, the all-you-care-to-eat plan gives students access to a dining hall where they can eat as much and whatever they want from what is available each visit. The majority of UTSG meal plan fees are $7,625 for unlimited use for the 2025–2026 year.
At UTSC, all first-year students who live in residence are on a mandatory, all-access meal plan at the dining hall in Harmony Commons. All-access meal plans go up to $6,610. Upper-year students “have the option to purchase a meal plan but are not required to do so,” as specified on the UTSC Student Housing & Residence Life website.
UTM students must have a meal plan if they live in residence, no matter what year of study they’re in. The cost decreases in order of “Plus,” “Full,” “Light,” and “Minimum”-style meal plans, with prices ranging from $2,950–$5,525. While upper-year students have access to all four meal plan styles, first-years only have the options of “Plus” and “Full”, making the plans overall more expensive for them
One of the clearest reasons why so many students end up with high amounts of leftover meal plan money near the end of the school year seems to be the mere fact that participation in meal plans is required for the majority of residence programs. Meal plans are organized with fixed amounts of money and do not take into account variations in student lives, like different eating habits and schedules. By requiring that students with varying eating habits and preferences have cookie-cutter meal plan options, limited meal plan options make many students feel stuck.
In response to the question “Is the meal plan worth it?” posed on r/UofT, one deleted user echoes students’ frustration at the lack of flexibility and consideration for variable eating habits. “What I dislike the most about the meal plan is I usually have 2 meals a day, but the meal plan offers 3 meals a day, so it can feel like a waste of money at times.”
Similarly, fourth-year molecular biology and philosophy student Alexandra Tiznado Rodríguez recalls that her first-year meal plan didn’t account for the conversion rate to Mexican pesos — to which she would be reshuffling her unspent meal plan money at the end of the year at U of T.
“Although I managed to spend the remaining funds turned into TBucks,” Rodríguez wrote in an email to The Varsity, “as an international student, the conversion into my country’s currency and the Canadian dollar would still get affected as the tax reduction of the meal plan is lower than [that] of the TBucks.” Students at UTSG and UTSC can use TBucks on their TCards to pay for food, textbooks, printing and photocopying on campus. “Thus, although I could still spend those funds on food, by the end of the month the expenses were not stable and I would be losing money.”
Issues like these illustrate how meal plan policies at U of T ignore unique student circumstances, and fail to exercise the kind of flexibility that could make up for this failing. This could be solved if meal plan dollars were entirely refundable, since many students end up with surplus dollars at the end of the year. Yet none of the three campuses offer an adequate refund option.
Rigorous refund rules
UTSG allows unspent meal plan money to be transferred to Campus Flex Dollars that can be loaded onto TCards. Flex Dollars can only be used at specific locations, like Kelly Café, Robarts, and Café Reznikoff, and are only refundable if you withdraw from the university or have graduated. Additionally, money that is converted into Flex Dollars and refunds both have a $50 administration fee, which will be deducted from a student’s remaining account balance. Any balance of $50 or less is ineligible for transfers and refunds. If your account is inactive for a year after leaving U of T, it will be automatically deactivated, and the money will be forfeited.
UTSC’s MyWay monthly Meal Plan dollars can be converted to TBucks, which are flexible dollars that can be used at UTSC and UTSG. If you have a regular meal plan, leftover money is non-refundable after the plan expires. It can also only be used at the Harmony Commons Dining Hall.
UTM’s minimum commitment for meal plans is $2,750. According to the Hospitality & Ancillary Services website, “Any Basic dollars remaining (over the Minimum Commitment) are eligible for Carry Over to the following year.” Students can also transfer Flex Funds to Carry Over for the following year.
Are meal plans worth it?
In a differing response to the r/UofT Reddit post I mentioned earlier, another student expressed that the financial aspect of the meal plan was fine, but that the actual food itself was more problematic.“Overall I do think it’s good to have, but I do believe if you have high standards for the food you’re eating (taste and health wise), meal plan is probably not as great as cooking for yourself.”
A more positive perspective considers the benefits that meal plans provide for first-year students. Anabelle Hsiao, a fifth-year computer science student, pointed out in an email to The Varsity, that most students who live on campus are first-years with limited independent living experience. “While needing to manage schoolwork, social, and a new environment, many have struggled to have well balanced meals. Thus, with the school’s meal plan, students have the option to take off the burden.”
Another r/UofT user commented that while the meal plan is “not bad,” it’s also “not worth it because the food isn’t good all the time,” so they wouldn’t recommend it. “I made a couple of friends on res[idence] and they all said the food wasn’t good all the time too… I live off campus now and I think it’s way better to get groceries than purchasing the meal plan, based on my experience.”
A mere difference in food or taste preference can be a determining factor in whether or not a meal plan is worth it for some students. But for most students, including this commenter, that factor wasn’t considered. “I lived on res[idence] in my second year (in Trinity College), and the meal plan was mandatory, so I had no choice.”
There is no doubt that meal plans help students save time to cram in their last-minute studying while munching away. However, routinely having minimal food options can lead to the guilty daydreaming of DoorDash food that the dining hall lacks. When calculating the total cost of meal plan fees on top of all the financial expenses associated with studying at U of T, is food convenience truly worth the cost?
Making the most of cemented meal plan policies
Since U of T appears reluctant to make meaningful changes to their meal plan system, online and on campus alike, students must strategically navigate a meal plan system that doesn’t always work with them to help make the most of their money.
Initiatives like the Meal Plan Recycling Program and Free Food at UofT are doing just that, providing resources for students to ‘recycle’ their leftover meal plan money to “help purchase and distribute food to those in need,” and “combat food insecurity.” The Meal Plan Recycling Program organizes food drives and tabling events to donate food bought with students’ leftover meal plan money to Toronto Food Not Bombs, an “organization dedicated to providing food security and dignity,” according to their website. Free Food at U of T hosts free meal events and caters campus events with free snacks for students.
For students who may be more familiar with r/UofT, advice from upper-year students is equally as plentiful. When a student visited the popular subreddit to ask if they should buy a meal plan, other students came to their rescue with some helpful tips.
“I recommend against buying a meal plan until you’ve had a chance to figure out your eating habits,” one student commented. “No sense in getting the full year’s meal plan if you don’t end up using it.” They also suggested cooking meals at home because it is the most convenient, healthy, and cost-effective option. “Even if you don’t cook, getting a rotisserie chicken and making a salad is pretty easy and cheap.”
Another student highlighted that “There is a tax benefit to meal plans but you get so sick of the on campus options pretty fast. Buy a small amount if possible. I stayed in res[idence], which had compulsory meal dollars. Almost all of us had left over dollars at year end, which expires if we don’t use them, so we end up buying boxes and boxes of Gatorade or water bottles or chocolates.”
Rodríguez similarly recommended focusing on healthy eating habits and organization to offset the higher costs of the more inclusive meal plan options. “Build a meal plan for yourself that is healthy and reminds you to eat your complete meals. This will allow you to manage your expenses and even organize your schedule for any other activity. If you are planning to get any package of meal plan, combine it with self-made meals.”
Meal plan options reflect the good intentions of convenience for students. However, things like inflexible pricing options and required meal plans create a system that works against students and their wallets.
Although many students seem to agree that the meal plan system is flawed, they have learned to adapt through strategic budgeting, meal planning, and looking into helpful free food initiatives. With all the stress of assignments, exams, and jobs on our shoulders, mismanaged meal plan money is but another unfortunate burden for the hard-working students of U of T. But we are proactive in saving as much money and sharing as much food as can be bought with the typical few hundred dollars left over by April. The students of U of T are hopeful for a brighter future for the meal plans.
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