Meal Plans
Seawolf Dining strives to provide affordable, sustainable, healthy and delicious dining options for students, staff and faculty.
Visit the Seawolf Dining & Catering website for information on dining locations across campus, themed dinner nights, menus and more.
Visit the Dining page on the Residence Life website for more information about dining policies and procedures for current residents, as well as the process for gaining access to the kitchens in the lobbies of the residence halls.
Fall 2024/Spring 2025 Full-Semester Meal Plan Descriptions and Rates
UAA has a variety of full-semester meal plans available to all students living on campus, or to commuter students who wish to take advantage of the meal options in the Gorsuch Commons. Full-semester meal plans consist of two components:
- All-You-Care-to-Eat Meals: One all-you-care-to-eat meal during breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or late night exclusively in the Creekside Eatery located in the Gorsuch Commons on the residential campus. Residents are permitted to use multiple meals at once in order to have friends or family members join them in the Eatery. Any meals left unused at the end of the week for the Weekly Servings meal plan or at the end of the semester for the Satiated Semester meal plan are forfeited by the student.
- Dining Dollars: Funds available for use at various dining locations across campus, including the Bear Necessities in the Gorsuch Commons. Any unused dining dollars at the end of the semester are forfeited by the student.
Students living in a residence hall (North, East or West Hall, which do not have in-suite kitchens) are required to have one of the full-semester meal plans below. Students will be able to select a meal plan for fall and spring once room assignments are finalized before the start of the semester. Meal plans are selected each semester by residents via their Housing Self-Service page on UAOnline. Residents who do not select a meal plan will default to the Weekly Servings 14 plan at check-in.
Weekly Servings
Cost per Semester: $2,625
- 14 All-You-Care-to-Eat Meals per Week
- $400 Dining Dollars per Semester
or
- 18 All-You-Care-to-Eat Meals per Week
- $320 Dining Dollars per Semester
Description: Never run out! This plan guarantees students will have meals through the end of the semester. Students are provided with 14 or 18 all-you-care-to-eat meals per week at the Creekside Eatery on the residential campus, plus dining dollars to spend over the course of the semester at any Seawolf Dining location. Unused meals expire at the end of each week, and unused dining dollars expire at the end of the semester. Students with this meal plan will receive their allotment of meals each Sunday and must use them by the end of the day on Saturday to avoid forfeiting any unused meals left on their account.
Satiated Semester
Cost per Semester: $2,625
- 175 All-You-Care-to-Eat Meals per Semester
- $525 Dining Dollars per Semester
or
- 225 All-You-Care-to-Eat Meals per Semester
- $350 Dining Dollars per Semester
Description: This plan provides students with a bank of meals to use throughout the semester as they like at the Creekside Eatery on the residential campus, plus dining dollars to use at Seawolf Dining locations across campus. Unused meals and dining dollars expire at the end of the semester.
Apartment Residents, Commuter Students and Add-on Meal Plans
The meal plans below are available to faculty, staff, commuter students or campus apartment/townhome residents with kitchens. These plans can also be added to any full-semester meal plan if a student runs out of meals as long as the student's financial account is in good standing.
Meal Swipe Plans
One meal swipe is good for an all-you-care-to-eat meal (breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or late night) in the Creekside Eatery in the Gorsuch Commons.
Green & Gold Block 10 plan
Cost: $115
Green & Gold Block 25 plan
Cost: $275
Green & Gold Block 50 plan
Cost: $525
Dining Dollar Plans
Dining dollars can be used dollar-for-dollar at most Seawolf Dining locations across campus, such as the Bear Necessities in the Gorsuch Commons, as well as Subway in the Student Union or Kaladi Brothers Cafe by the Consortium Library. Each plan comes with bonus meal swipes you can use at the Creekside Eatery in the Gorsuch Commons.
Platinum 300 Plan
$300 Dining dollars
9 Meal Swipes
Cost: $300
Gold 200 Plan
$200 Dining dollars
6 Meal Swipes
Cost: $200
Silver 100 Plan
$100 Dining dollars
3 Meal Swipes
Cost: $100
Combination Meal Plans
A combination of dining dollars and all-you-care-to-eat meals for the ultimate in variety around campus.
Big Dipper Plan
115 Meal Swipes
$125 Dining Dollars
Cost: $1375
Little Dipper Plan
50 Meal Swipes
$175 Dining Dollars
Cost: $650
How the Meal Plan Works (Frequently Asked Questions)
- What is the difference between meals and dining dollars?
Each meal plan provides a block of "meals" to be used at the Creekside Eatery located on the residential campus. One "meal swipe" equals one all-you-care-to-eat meal. "Dining dollars" may be used dollar-for-dollar at most Seawolf Dining & Catering establishments across campus.
- Where can I use dining dollars on campus?
Dining dollars are accepted at campus food or coffee venues operated by Seawolf Dining & Catering. Please visit the Shops and Dining webpage for information about these venues.
Venues operated by students or other groups such as the Student Union Coffee Shop, the Student Union Info Desk or Lucy's Restaurant do not accept dining dollars.
- How do I receive my meals and dining dollars?
Meal blocks and dining dollars are loaded onto your Wolfcard (student ID) allowing you to simply swipe your card for meals, coffee, snacks, etc.
- Are students living on campus required to have a meal plan?
Students living in one of the residence halls (North, East or West Halls) are required to purchase one of the full-semester meal plans (Weekly Servings or Satiated Semester). If you're assigned to one of the residence halls and don't pick a meal plan, the default Weekly Servings 14 plan will be added for you in the week before check-in.
Students in the MAC apartments and Templewood townhomes are not required to have a meal plan, but are welcome to purchase any of the plans, including one of the apartment or add-on plans. Having a meal plan provides easy and convenient access to meals when you don't feel like preparing meals on your own.
- I live in a residence hall and am required to have a full-semester meal plan, but
I have obligations that pull me away from campus for a portion of the semester and
likely won't use the whole plan. Can I purchase a smaller meal plan?
Students living in a residence hall who will be away from campus for extended periods of time equaling at least three weeks during the course of a semester can submit a request to purchase the Big Dipper Meal Plan instead of one of the required full-semester meal plans. Examples of residents eligible for this exception include:
- Student athletes who travel for competition
- Members of the National Guard with service obligations away from campus
- Students who have internship or job responsibilities away from campus
- Students seeking medical treatment away from Anchorage for extended periods of time
Residents interested in this meal plan will need to submit a request for approval and include documentation from a coach, employer, physician, military leader, etc. outlining their obligations and dates they expect to be away from campus. The form to request this exception will be available to students once they move into student housing.
- Can I purchase a meal plan if I don't live on campus?
Yes! Any of the meal plans are available for students, staff and faculty. Please contact the Department of Residence Life if you don't live on campus and are interested in purchasing a plan.
- If I move into student housing mid-semester, can I purchase a prorated meal plan?
The default Weekly Servings 14 plan is available at a prorated rate for students who move into student housing after the first two weeks of school. Late move-in residents of North, East or West Halls will be assigned the Weekly Servings 14 plan at a prorated rate when they are assigned a room. Residents in an apartment or townhome can choose the prorated Weekly Servings 14 plan or one of the apartment or add-on plans if they wish.
- How can I see how many meal swipes or dining dollars I have left during the semester?
You can check your Wolfcard balance (including your meal swipes or dining dollars balance) on the eAccounts website.
- When are meal plans offered?
All meal plans are available during the fall and spring semesters. The Green and Gold Block 10 and 25 and 50 plans are offered in the summer months.
- How do I pay for my meal plan?
Your meal plan charge will be billed to your student account and will be due by the published UAA payment deadlines.
- Can I use a meal swipe to treat someone else to a meal?
Yes. You are able to use more than one meal swipe per meal time. For example, if mom and dad visit, or you wish to treat a friend to dinner, you are able to use as many swipes as you like on a single occasion.
- What happens if I have a non-weekly plan and I run out of meals before the end of
the semester?
You can purchase one of the meal plan add-ons as long as your student account is in good standing
- What happens if I have a weekly plan, and I run out of meals before the end of the
week?
You can purchase one of the meal plan add-ons as long as your student account is in good standing. Unlike the meals in the weekly plans, add-on meals don’t expire until the end of the semester.
- What happens if I don't use all my meals or dining dollars during the semester, or
all my weekly meals during the week?
Unused meal swipes and dining dollars in the Satiated Semester plan expire at the end of the semester (generally the last day of the fall and spring housing agreement period - the Monday following commencement). Unused meals on the Weekly Servings plans expire at the end of each week (the week resets on Sundays).
- Can faculty or staff who aren't students purchase a meal plan?
Yes. Faculty or staff can purchase a meal plan at the Bear Necessities (in the Gorsuch Commons) with cash or a credit card. Once you've purchased the plan, staff will add it to your Wolfcard for use. See the Seawolf Dining website for information about hours for the Bear Necessities.
How Do I Select a Meal Plan
Students can select a meal plan via their Housing Self-Service page on UAOnline during a designated time after room assignments are finalized for the fall and spring semesters. Students will receive an email from the Department of Residence Life once this option is available. If students are assigned to a residence hall, where a meal plan is required, but do not choose a meal plan via UAOnline, the default Weekly Servings plan of 14 meals per week and $400 dining dollars will be automatically added to their student account before check-in.
At the conclusion of the fall semester, students will have the opportunity to renew their current meal plan, or choose a different plan for the spring semester. If students are assigned to a residence hall, where a meal plan is required, but do not choose a new spring meal plan via their Housing Self-Service page on UAOnline, their fall meal plan will be automatically renewed before the start of the new semester.
Meal plan selections are binding as of 5:00 pm on the second Friday of instruction in the fall and spring semesters and may not be changed after this time for that semester.
Which Meal Plan Should I Choose
When choosing a meal plan, take a moment to review your class schedule, travel, work hours or anything else that might affect when you'll eat most of your meals so that you can make an informed decision on which meal plan to choose.
- If you want to ensure that you don't run out of meals towards the end of the semester and that you have regular meals every week, then the Weekly Servings plan, which gives you 14 or 18 meals per week, may be the best option.
- If you'd like flexibility in how you use your meals (you may use more meals one week and less the week after), then the Satiated Semester plan of 175 or 225 meals would better suit your needs.