Dining dollars are flex money that is tied to the board plan purchased. This money may in dining facilities and used on any retail food purchase at dining facilities around campus including: The Bell & Beacon, Grinder’s, Farmer’s Market, Concessions, and Founder’s Table.

Block plans have an allotted amount of board plan swipes to use throughout the semester. One “block” is charged per visit to Founder’s Table and allows access to the All-you-care-to-eat environment of Founder’s Table. Blocks are non-transferrable and expire at the end of the semester.

There are a number of options to check your meal plan balance! They include:

Check your balance at the register of any campus dining location.

View your balance on DataVU at datavu.valpo.edu.

Check your balance at any P.H.I.L stations (Payment Headquarters in Location — located on the second floor of the Harre Union).

Check your balance in the OneCard Office

Click here for a step-by-step guide for adding a meal plan, changing a meal plan or adding dining dollars

Money may also be added to all meal plans in $1 increments through the DataVU Student Menu — Housing/Meal Plan Self-Service.

All additions to your meal plan, which are initiated by you online, will be updated to your OneCard every hour on the odd hour.

Valparaiso University is residential by design. Living on campus represents an integral component of the mission of the institution by providing living and learning experiences, which lead to a student’s growth and development, and an enhancement of one’s total education at Valpo. Because residency is such an important aspect of the Valpo experience, Valparaiso University has a three-year residency requirement. All undergraduate students should expect to reside in campus housing for six (6) semesters. Meal Plans are assigned based on numbers of semester living on campus.

None are required but all of the meal plans are available to commuting students. There are many options available that depend upon your schedule. We often suggest that students pay attention to how much they spend and then purchase a plan that makes sense to them. Most commuters like the $300 or $500 declining balance options, the 100/100 plan, or the 50/50 plan that offers 50 swipes and $50 of declining balance.

The new Clean Plate station in Founders will be a chef-attended, service oriented destination serving hot entrees and sides that are free of the nine most common allergens as identified by the FDA (milk, eggs, shellfish, fish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy and sesame). Additionally, all food prepared and served from Clean Plate will not contain gluten. The station will operate independently and will have its own dedicated holding system, cooking equipment and specially-marked purple utensils to avoid cross-contamination. Team members working this station will have special training by our third-party food allergen training partner, Kitchens with Confidence™, to certify that our Clean Plate stations are safe for guests with food allergies.

In addition to daily specials, we will be able to customize meals for our students with special dietary concerns. The goal of Clean Plate is to provide the Valpo community with delicious, allergen conscious dishes. No student with special dietary needs should feel alienated by what they cannot eat. At Clean Plate, those students, and even those without food concerns, will be excited about dining with their friends in Founders. Additionally, we’ll offer a selection of Clean Plate On the Go! items in Campus Café and Grinders, because our guests with special dietary needs should have access to delicious, fresh, portable options, too! They’ll be made at our Clean Plate stations, merchandised daily with the traditional grab-and-go offerings, and clearly marked.

Additionally, for our guests who identify as vegan or vegetarian or simply are looking to eat a more plant-centric diet, we will offer the V2 Vegan and Vegetarian kitchen. Every day in Founders, guests will be able to choose from a selection of delicious, satisfying and well-balanced vegetarian and vegan dishes ranging from wild mushroom strudel, lentil and vegetable biryani, vegetable paella, seitan gumbo and roasted asparagus, or spinach fajitas.