Correction: 

On Tuesday, October 1st, 2019 Beaver’s Digest issued a correction to the following article. Originally we stated that Orange Cash could be used to purchase items at the The OSU Beaver Store- Across from Reser Stadium. This is incorrect and we have removed that from the article.

You just moved to Corvallis to start your new life in college. It’s busy, it’s overwhelming, it’s stressful, and to make matters worse, you don’t have your parents around to cook you every meal. You live in the dorms, hardly have a usable kitchen, let alone time to go make real food for yourself, so you got signed up for a dining plan. Sure, you’ve got some Cup of Noodles to spare when you’re really glued to studying, but you know you need some more to eat than that. So how does your dining plan work? In case you’re extremely confused, BD is here to give you some info about what your dining plan really means.

The Meal Plans: When you sign up to live in the dorms, you most likely picked a dining plan. There are four different options, and each one gives you a certain amount of money per-term to use in the dining halls.

At the restaurant locations, you will get a 25% discount on all food purchased using your dining dollars. At espresso locations, you will get a 10% discount (also look out for discounts you can get for things like bringing your own cup).

Dining Dollars: Dining dollars are what you are using to pay for your food at UHDS locations. Your dining dollars are coming directly from your dining plan. A great way to check and see how much you have to spend for the day (it will change if you were to spend more than the allotted amount on one day), is to login to myUHDS on your phone and view your transactions. This will also show you how much you have saved using the discounts. 

Where You Use Dining Dollars:

Bing’s Cafe- Weatherford Hall, 10% discount

Cascadia Deli- International Living-Learning Center, 25% discount

Cascadia Market- International Living-Learning Center, 10% discount

Peet’s Coffee- International Living-Learning Center, 10% discount

Calabaloo’s- Marketplace West, 25% discount

Clubhouse Deli- Marketplace West, 25% discount

Cooper’s Creek- Marketplace West, 25% discount

EBGB’s- Marketplace West, 10% discount

Ring of Fire- Marketplace West, 25% discount

Serrano- Marketplace West, 25% discount

Tomassito’s Italian Cafe- Marketplace West, 25% discount

Boardwalk Cafe- McNary Dining, 25% discount

Calabaloo’s- McNary Dining, 25% discount

Five Four One- McNary Dining, 25% discount

La Calle- McNary Dining, 25% discount

RainTree Coffee- McNary Dining, 10% discount

The Main Squeeze- McNary Dining, 10% discount

Global Fare- Southside Station @ Arnold, 25% discount

Grill- Southside Station @ Arnold, 25% discount

Nori- Southside Station @ Arnold, 25% discount

Southside Station Deli- Southside Station @ Arnold, 25% discount

Southside Station Pizzeria- Southside Station @ Arnold, 25% discount

Food 2 You- This is the campus food delivery service. It will deliver right to you, with no extra costs other than the food (no tipping or delivery charge).

Orange Cash: You may have noticed when logging into myUHDS that you have $100 in Orange Cash to spend. This $100 is a one-time occurrence, and won’t happen again, so use it wisely! You can add more Orange Cash if you’d like onto your account, so that you can get the 10% discount you receive on things purchased with Orange Cash. Orange cash is not your dining dollars. It is completely different and can be used at places other than the dining halls.

Where to Use Orange Cash:

Dixon Cafe- Dixon Recreation Center

Bites- Memorial Union (MU)

JavaStop- MU

Joe’s Burgers- MU

North Porch Cafe- MU

Panda Express- MU

Pangea Cafe- MU

TOGO’s- MU

Trader Bing’s- Austin Hall

The Faves:

Serrano- This Mexican food is basically a Chipotle knockoff and therefore a big hit (don’t forget, guac is extra!)

The Main Squeeze- They’re there to satisfy all your needs: smoothies, fro-yo, and some market goodies.

Bing’s Cafe- A major favorite on campus for their delicious breakfast sandwiches, calzones, and Starbucks coffee drinks.

Panda Express- You may be using your Orange Cash here, but it’s a great bang for your buck, considering you can usually get a couple meals out of one!

All in all, dining at OSU can be a little confusing at first, but we hope this helped you out a bit! Just use your math skills and add up those discounts and get the most out of your meal plan!! Also, don’t forget to always be on the lookout for free food.

Photography by Christopher Flowers (via unsplash.com)