University of Maine Dining

Meal Plans

Enjoy exceptional on-campus dining plus convenient, cash-free spending via your MaineCard! 

How Dining Locations Differ

Dining locations are set up in two styles in order to meet the varying needs of on-campus resident students, commuter students, faculty and staff.

Unlimited Dining

• Hilltop
• York
• Wells Central

These locations are designed to be a “home away from home” for the resident populations they serve. Although non-resident customers are certainly welcome, these venues feature amenities designed to enhance the on-campus living experience:

• extended hours
• all-you-care-to-eat menus
• special programming

A La Carte Dining

• The Marketplace
• Bear’s Den
• Bear Bites, Too
• Oakes Room

These locations are designed to serve the greater campus community. Service styles and options are similar to public dining venues like restaurants:

• a la carte dining
• more take-out options
• operating hours to match the busiest times on campus

How Meal Plans Work

Resident students can choose from specific meal plan options based upon their year and where they live on campus. Commuter students, faculty and staff can also choose from various plan options.

“Unlimited Dining” Plans

Enjoy unlimited dining in Hilltop, Wells Central and York — our residential all-you-care-to-eat facilities. Stop in as often as you’d like during operating hours for a full meal, quick snack or cup of coffee with friends! No keeping track of meals. No worrying about cash. Use your MaineCard for anytime access to regular meals, special events and theme dinners at any of these locations!

Guest Meals

Many UMaine Meal Plans include six guest meal swipes per semester (see chart below). You may use these meal swipes to take a guest to an all-you-care-to-eat meal at Hilltop, Wells Central or York. You must accompany your guest into the dining facility and tell the cashier that you wish to use a meal swipe for that person’s meal. At that time, two meals will be deducted from your account — one for you and one for your guest.

“Flex Dining” Plans

Meal plans designated as “Flex” include Dining Funds for snacks or the occasional convenience dining in our a lá carte locations, like the Marketplace or our convenience markets on campus. Dining Funds operate as a declining balance (debit) account. Your Flex plan includes an initial amount of Dining Funds that are accessed via your MaineCard. Each time you make a purchase, you get a discount off of the regular cash price and the appropriate amount of Dining Funds are deducted from your account.

Dining Funds Specifics:

• Receive a 10 percent discount off of cash price of all-you-care-to-eat meals at Hilltop, Wells Central and York. (Please note that although you can use Dining Funds, your greatest value is with meal swipes.)
• Receive a 5 percent discount at our convenience markets, the Marketplace, Bear’s Den, Oakes Room Café, and Bear Bites, Too.
• You may load additional Dining Funds into your account in increments of $25 or more by visiting the MaineCard Service Center in the Memorial Union. Dining Funds may be charged to your Student Account.
• Dining Funds are non-refundable, but carry over from fall to spring semester.
• Dining Funds expire the day after commencement.

Other Plans

A few additional plans provide for a specific number of visits to all-you-care-to-eat resident dining facilities each semester.

Meal Plan Options

Resident students can choose from specific meal plan options based upon their year and where they live on campus. Commuter students, faculty and staff can also choose from various plan options. See the chart below for details.

Meal Plan Requirements and How to Sign Up

Meal Plan Requirements

A meal plan:

• is required for all campus residents (except  DTAV and Patch residents)
• is required for the entire academic year
• is payable in two installments
• first installment in July
• second installment in November
• change is allowed once during the first six weeks of each semester. Please visit the Housing website and choose the “myHousing” link on the right.

How To Sign Up

On-Campus resident students will be enrolled in a meal plan as part of their Academic Year Room and Board License. Please see details on the Housing website.

Commuter students, faculty and staff may sign up for a meal plan by submitting the Commuter Meal Plan Contract (PDF). Commuter students, faculty and staff may also add Dining Funds or Black Bear Bucks to their account. For details and a comparison, see the next section, “Special Information for Commuter Students, Faculty and Staff.”

Commuter Students, Faculty and Staff

If you are student who lives off-campus, or a member of UMaine faculty or staff, you are welcome to participate in any UMaine Meal Plan. Review the options in the meal plan chart above for more details.

You may also choose to load your MaineCard with either just Dining Funds or Black Bear Bucks. Both are declining balance accounts from which your purchases can be deducted.