We know that in the summer months some students may not need a meal plan because they have jobs or internships which include access to free meals. While we’re sympathetic to students in this situation, a meal plan is still required for all students living in non-apartment housing.

Student housing is designed for students who are enrolled in classes. As a courtesy, we allow Stanford students to stay in housing while not enrolled during the summer months, but this is not the primary purpose of student housing. The primary purpose is to provide housing while students are undertaking courses of study.

Food costs in Stanford Dining are just a portion of Dining’s expenses, and there are many fixed costs (labor, overhead, etc.) which are constant whether or not you eat in the dining halls. R&DE is a not-for-profit, and our motivation is to provide excellent service to students, not financial gain. In order to have a financially viable dining program so that we can feed students while they work toward their degrees, we need every student living in a non-apartment residence to purchase a meal plan.  We do have options available for students unable to make it to meals such as late plates, sack lunch options, point options, etc.

In addition to the above, the dorms are not designed for meal preparation. If the dining plan were optional, we would see more students cooking within the halls which would result in pests such as ants, roaches, and rats, as well as an increase in fire safety violations. These would make the halls a far less safe and enjoyable place to live for all students.

Exemptions to the meal plan can be made for students with a documented medical need as verified by the Office of Accessible Education (OAE). Students with such needs should reach out directly to the OAE.