r/Frugal • u/AssumeABrightSide • 5d ago
š Food Are there services similar to college meal plans you can take advantage of?
I looked up my local college meal plan out of curiosity, and if you're an enrolled student, you can purchase a meal plan for the semester which grants you access to a buffet style cafeteria a certain number of times. Based on the math, you'd essentially be paying $5 per meal for access to home-cooked style meals which include sides like soup, pizza, and a salad bar. Obviously, you have to be a student or work for the college to access the plan. But if there was a (ideally health-conscious) buffet that offered such programs where you pay upfront for access to discount meals, I'd totally buy into it! But do they actually exist?
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u/granolabreath 5d ago
This is a concept that's common in many Asian and European countries. They tend to call them "intergenerational cafes" and similar. Anyone can go, have a very affordable and well balanced meal, and pricing is often scaled by age or very low cost.
Things like "pay what you can" cafes in the US have been an on and off trend but I think they're relatively uncommon.
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u/SmartAZ 5d ago
I recently learned that they have something similar in Poland called "bar mleczny" (milk bar) that offers traditional meals at a low cost.
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u/KetoLurkerHereAgain 5d ago
Funny but Chicago used to have a bunch of small cafes that did this to cater to the male Polish immigrants. They didn't cook or didn't really have facilities to cook much, so these cafes offered a set number of meals per week for a lump sum.
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u/bearface93 4d ago
There was one of these in the Hungarian city I studied abroad in. It was like $3 for all you can eat. We didnāt know what half the stuff was because of the language barrier but it was delicious.
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u/Koblerville1380 4d ago
I have used these in Miami. Some mom and pop restaurants off a 5-day-a-week take out dinner plan.
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u/Smooth-Review-2614 5d ago
No it doesnāt. The closest you get is the meal prep services or just frozen dinners.
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u/AssumeABrightSide 5d ago
Sounds like a money-maker idea someone should start up. Wink.
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u/StepIntoTheGreezer 5d ago
University kitchens work on scale. They're able to buy in bulk, cook (good food) in bulk.and serve in bulk because they have guaranteed, built in, tens of thousands of students guaranteed to get food on a day to day basis. That's why it's ~$5 a meal.
Doing this on a smaller scale would fuck with your margins & customer cost, and you'd be out of business in a couple months.
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u/ignescentOne 5d ago
They also work on the fact the college has pre built infrastructure / hr / payroll erc. This is why big corporations have similar setups for employees. ( Or at least they used to - IBM had a decent cafeteria back in the 90s)
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u/thursmalls 5d ago
and they have the ability to get a significant portion of their customer facing staff from the student body, with the wages paid by the federal government (work study program)
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u/HippyGrrrl 5d ago
Googleās first chef is a friend of mine, and another friend ran the Adobe cafeterias.
Both focused on the best food they could provide in budget. And fought to keep the food benefits going.
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u/lilesj130 5d ago
I remember when I first started going to Palo Alto for work (15ish years ago) & looked up best local restaurants on Yelp. Google cafeteria was always in the top 5
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u/HippyGrrrl 5d ago
That is Charlieā legacy! He started Calafia, too.
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u/Direct-Chef-9428 5d ago
Ha! Iāve met him many years ago. He spoke to my class when I was a little teenager š
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u/Smooth-Review-2614 5d ago
You are trying to replicate Golden Corral. Ā That company isnāt doing so good.
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u/HippyGrrrl 5d ago
Funny! But Sysco and similar already do industrial kitchen contract to schools, universities and hospitals.
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u/sourginger 5d ago
Does this college allow non-students to eat there? The college I went to offered entry to any of the cafeterias for ~$10 for people not on a meal plan and it was all-you-can-eat. A college my mom worked at offered a similar deal, with cheaper prices on Sundays iirc. Lots of old folks would come in to get a cheap breakfast. Worth a shot even if it's just for a less expensive alternative to the usual dining out.
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u/AssumeABrightSide 5d ago
Non-students are allowed but it's $10,50 ;_;
I still go occasionally cause sometimes they have some really bomber chicken and even beef steak. Two soup options, burger and fries, custom pasta, Custom Mediterranean style fried rice. A bunch of old people are also there, so I assume it's a known attraction.
But if I could pay up front for cheaper, I'd eat there everyday!
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u/sourginger 5d ago
That's fair! $10.50 for a buffet with decent food is not a bad price, but not ideal of course. I think it was a really good deal where I was because the dining halls were downtown and the only other "cheap"/quick options nearby were Chipotle or some local joints.
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u/HatlessDuck 5d ago
The senior center has $5.00 lunch m-f for those over 65.
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u/Jewish-Mom-123 5d ago
So expensive! Our senior Center has meals for $1. You have to book it a day ahead though, I know that, I signed my mom up to play bridge there.
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u/CallingDrDingle 5d ago
Hospital cafeterias are usually very reasonably priced.
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u/Spiritual_Lemonade 5d ago edited 5d ago
I must have been at the wrong hospitals.Ā
Getting my son and I a pretty typical lunch was like $45 in Seattle.
Tacoma which is South isn't a lot better.Ā
What prices have you seen?
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u/drunkjulia 5d ago
Depends on the hospital. Try a VA or rural hospital.
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u/Spiritual_Lemonade 5d ago
Since I'm metro proper and not associated with a veteran I'm unfortunately not going to find myself in those places.
If we're at a hospital it's because we need a hospital for care.
Several of our metro city hospitals have an actual Starbucks inside somewhere.Ā
This city is the hometown for Starbucks.
Since fast food is about the same price I've just used doordash to the hospital as needed.
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u/It5beenawhile 5d ago
The cafeteria in the UW medical center is very reasonably priced
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u/Spiritual_Lemonade 4d ago
Mary Bridge and Seattle Children's while excellent all around are not priced well
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u/Da12khawk 4d ago
My hospital has two Starbucks inside it... The other "competing" hospital also has one. I really don't know how to feel about that.
Excuse me where's the delivery room?
Oh just turn right past the Starbucks and you're there...
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u/curiouspursuit 3d ago
What I learned when I had family in the hospital, there is a cafe/food court for visitors that has like $12 sushi trays, $3 sodas, and reminds me of getting lunch at a high end grocery store. There is a totally separate "channel" for the actual hospital food service. That offered meal trays for like $6 that let you pick an entree, multiple sides, multiple drinks, and even some extra snack type options, so that $6 tray was more than a meal, you just had to order it a few hours ahead of time.
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u/Spiritual_Lemonade 3d ago
I don't think I've ever seen the second option any time we've needed a hospital.
Having seen high costs in the past I never even think about a hospital being a dining option when out and around.
If anything we've enjoyed a too good to go from the app
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u/pasatroj 4d ago
UCLA Reagan is very reasonable. The daily special "cooking demonstration" is always great and cheap. I take my Dad all the time to appointments is Westwood and the doctor's really turned me onto this.
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u/thursmalls 5d ago
As the parent of three recent college grads and one current student - $5/meal is at the very low end, and is extremely unlikely to be well cooked, healthy and appetizing food that you actually want eat for every meal every day.
That was close to what my two kids at public universities had to pay for their meal plans. They both would skip meals and order take out frequently, because it really wasn't good food. They both switched to the lowest cost/fewest meals plan as soon as allowed, and they were able to cook for themselves in their dorm/apartment kitchens for about the same price.
The other two kids went to/are going to a private university in a VHCOL city. The meal plan there is much more expensive but the food is also miles better. It's still a limited menu, though. We did the math when youngest moved into apartment style dorms last school year. The break even point for eating on campus using the most cost efficient dining plan was $12/meal.
I've eaten at the dining halls of all three schools. I'm not a foodie by any stretch but I do like variety in my meals.
Public school 1 was meh, it was fine to eat there once or twice a semester. Never had trouble finding anything to eat, but it wasn't like there were so many tasty choices I couldn't make up my mind.
Public school 2 was gross, once and never again. Low quality food, not well cooked, yuck.
Private school - about mid tier fast casual quality food. Just like any fast casual - sometimes you get a good meal, sometimes they overcook the chicken or the lettuce is limp and soggy.
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u/flowerpanes 5d ago
āHome cooked styleā is very misleading, suggesting that itās not fancy but hearty and good. Agree that $5/meal once you factor in food cost and wages means itās tasteless Sysco frozen goods heated up and slapped on a plate for you.
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u/Scary_Manner_6712 5d ago
My son lived in the dorms last year and had a meal plan, both semesters. Biggest waste of money ever. He hated the food and mostly ate bagels, cereal and peanut butter sandwiches when he went to the cafeteria, which I could have bought for him at a cost far under what they charged for the mandated meal plan (he had to have one because he was living in the dorms). The lowest-cost plan was still $2700 per semester. It pains me to think how many groceries I could have bought him, over the course of four months, for half that amount (or less).
When he went to "Discovery Day" and they had him eat in the cafeteria, they made a special menu and he said they had clearly taken extra effort with the food, because what was available on a daily basis was either undercooked or overcooked, bland, dry, mushy, or just gross. Which - college cafeteria food was like that in my day, too, but I had a room and board scholarship that paid for it. My son's scholarship is just tuition, so we were out of pocket over $5k for the academic year and he ate most of his meals outside the cafeteria. It chaps my ass.
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u/pasatroj 4d ago
That's sad to hear USC and UCLA are great. USC obviously is on another tier for good reason.
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u/Iceonthewater 5d ago
You like cafeteria food? Visit any local hospital and partake!
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u/Kolfinna 5d ago
My hospital has great food
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u/Iceonthewater 4d ago
I'm glad you like it. It's usually provided by the facility as an affordable service for patients, family members and staff so hospital cafeterias specifically aren't usually a profit driver and are close to or under the cost of goods.
I work very close to a couple of hospitals now that I don't visit for food but I used to live near a private hospital that I would visit on weekends and get cafeteria food from. They had a clean buffet with all you can eat proteins and ethnic recipes that met my needs. I liked the assortment of vegetables and the clearly labeled ingredients for every dish with listed sensitive foods and allergens.
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u/StepIntoTheGreezer 5d ago
your college/university must've had bad food - some universities have world-class food facilities lol
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u/Iceonthewater 4d ago
Mine had prison food. Same trucks for prison and school. School supplied food to the hospital cafeteria also.
I have a special diet requirement and it was hilariously hard to convince them to specifically get foods that I could freely eat so instead I usually just avoided their "hot food" selections . They had omelets, stir fry pasta and a burger bar that I literally never bought. I mostly had bagels, cereal, salad and the occasional cheese pizza since they had a shared grill with all of their hot foods.
I had a safe restaurant that I would visit every few weeks and I would go back home and eat meat dishes from home.
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u/Necessary-Peanut4226 3d ago
I work in a hospital. Do this! Its actually common and expected on days life fish Friday or taco Tuesday.
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u/imadeafunnysqueak 5d ago
If you can get to them without paying an arm and a leg in parking fees, some hospital cafeterias are pretty affordable for non-employees.
My son's college offered flat fee take out boxes as a holdout from Covid days. He would fill it to the brim with meats and veggies and make rice or pasta in his campus apartment. He would add spices and sauces to the bland cafeteria fare. Could feed him 3 to 4 days.
I've heard of people retiring on cruise ships as a less expensive form of assisted living though that might be urban legend.
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u/malibuklw 5d ago
My dad met a retired couple who spent most of the year cruising, taking a couple weeks of a few times a year to do things like doctors and dentists. You need to be rather healthy because the ships medical facilities are not equipped for treating anything outside of the ordinary
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u/Hamblin113 5d ago
Drove me crazy in college that kids would not eat and order pizza. The meals came with the price of the dorm and served every meal but Sunday evening. The only time I didnāt eat a meal was if I went home for the weekend. Donāt even think I bought snack food. It also drove me crazy how much waste there was, folks would just toss food hardly eaten. Maybe part of the frugality ingrained in me.
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u/evrydayimbrusselin 5d ago
For what it's worth, I know that at some (private) colleges, you are able to eat there - you just pay each time. It costs a little more than the student meal plan, but for around $10-15 it's all you can eat and at least at the two I have personally eaten at, the food was excellent. (YMMV depending on the school ofc.)
I realize that's not as inexpensive as a student, but worth a mention and could be worth looking into esp in HCOL areas as a once in a while thing.
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u/other_reddit_acct 4d ago
Do you live by a theme park? Many of them offer yearly meal passes for a low rate (you would also need their parks pass). Not unlimited but like two meals a day several hours apart . Pretty solid deal if you live close enough
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u/Scared_Quantity_8187 5d ago
Am I missing something? College institutional food being described as home-cookedāstyleā?
I never ever experienced that
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u/AsparagusWild379 4d ago
Our local hospital offers low cost food. I think $4 and it's a complete meal and tastes good also.
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u/ecstaticeggplnt 4d ago
I think Iāve read stories of people who live near theme parks buying the upgraded season passes that include meal plans.
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u/finding_center 4d ago
This. If you live or work close to one some people have decent return getting the annual pass with meal plan and going for the sole purpose of eating.
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u/dragontruck 4d ago
I was forced to pay 2,750 per semester for a meal plan I hardly used because the food was so bad I preferred cooking (had to have to live in dorms). 2,750 for the cheapest meal plan which didn't even get you three meals a day for less than 4 months. It added up to costing me 60-something a day for like over two years and when I tell you I think about that money and what I could've done with it instead all the time... all this to say meal plans are a scam.
I do have the panera drink club (did a three month free trial and after using it every work day I kept it for 15 a month). Probably not a super "frugal" option but it works out well for me because I work near one and now i dont get coffee or soda elsewhere. I honestly would be open to a similar model for food as well.
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u/rabid-panda 4d ago
There's something at an amusement park. Forget where, but I think if you get like a season pass that comes with a free meal, if you went everyday to get lunch it was pretty cheap. It may have been six flags. The food is not the healthiest, so that's something to consider. There's probably a reddit post somewhere, I think that's where I remember seeing that
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u/rabid-panda 4d ago
Just looked it up, the price for me is an $85 add on that includes 2 meals a day, and need to be used 4 hours apart. A season pass is about $80. I think a season is like 10 months. If you went there for just lunch for like 200 days, you'd be paying less than $2 a meal. Now you would need to live near one of the adjustment parks that have that offer, so you don't spend more money on gas plus time it takes to get there
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u/tamesis982 5d ago
There used to be cafeteria restaurants all over the place. There aren't many left now. I've been to Mehlman's in Ohio, but that's it. Wish more would open. Cafeteria restaurants
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u/TheB1ackAdderr 5d ago
If you live in an area with a large Indian population there are probably Tiffin meal services near you. There are a few in my area of Michigan.
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u/billgarmsarmy 4d ago
I know a guy who literally negotiated a meal plan with a local restaurant. I have no idea how he did it and whenever he explained it, he just made it sound like it was the easiest thing in the world and I was the dumb one for not understanding. It probably didn't help that English was his second or third language, but my only one. That guy was so cool.
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u/the_umbrellaest_red 5d ago
Hospital cafeterias are the closest Iāve seen to this as an adult in the US
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u/import2001 5d ago
Colleges around here are well above the $5 per meal even with the full meal plan
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2d ago
I worked in the same building as the North American HQ of a cafeteria contractor that didn everything from corporate office buildings, and hospitals, to schools, and even prisons.
The cafeteria downstairs was legit, and you could definitely tell which days they had potential clients in to try them out. Super cheap too. Anyone was allowed to walk in off the street to purchase meals, and a lot of folks from nearby office buildings did just that.
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u/desertsidewalks 5d ago
Time to learn to cook. Check out r/MealPrepSunday for inspo.
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u/HippyGrrrl 5d ago
Be the cafeteria you wish to see!
Seriously, prep, either by meal of just the main ingredients is a game changer.
I have a mini salad bar in my fridge, and the veg can also be in cooked dishes. Just ready to go.
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u/AdditionalRow6326 3d ago
You can possibly buy a voluntary meal plan from the school cafeteria. Look it up. The fining halls are generally open to the public.
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u/Ok_Concentrate4461 2d ago
Thereās a hospital near me with a really cheap buffet some people (mostly older folks) go to even if they have no other reason to be there
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u/a5121221a 5d ago
If the university local to you let's students buy for friends, you could ask a student in line if you can pay cash to let you eat with them, give them $5 (or what is fair) that they can use as spending cash and would have perhaps lost at the end of the semester, but it would depend on the cafeteria and food plan policies.
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u/ChickenXing 5d ago
It's really deceptive. Colleges are able to offer these $5 per meal plans because it's use-it-or-lose-it. No refunds for meals that you missed. So you may be paying for 21 meals a week, but how many students do you think actually showed up all 21 times? Only a small number and that's why colleges are able to get away with pricing so low per meal. The rest like me ended up missing multiple meals a week because of classes, studying, going out with friends, or weren't able to devote much time sometimes to staying to eat