Meal Plan 2022-23
Vanderbilt’s dining halls are a key part of campus life, and our meal plans are designed to enhance students’ residential college experience. All Vanderbilt students living on campus are required to participate in a meal plan based on their cohort year. Meal plans are available to all undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty and staff.
Meal plans are loaded onto your Commodore Card or mobile wallet, and consist of a weekly meal allowance + flexible meal money. Simply tap your card or phone at a dining location, and the meal or Meal Money will automatically deduct from your account. All meal plans include 5 guest meals, for use at any time during the semester.
Most dining locations are all-you-care-to-eat, while others offer meals consisting of an entree, side(s) and a drink. These options include residential dining halls, retail markets and cafes, and Munchie Marts, which offer both grab and go options and Market Basket grocery kits.
Meal plan information for the 2023-2024 academic year will be published in early June.
Flex Meals
Students living off campus will have the ability to purchase any meal plan, but will not be required to do so. In addition, nonresidential students, faculty, and staff have the option to purchase flex meals which are prepaid blocks of meals, redeemable at any Campus Dining location.
Purchase Undergrad Student Flex Meals
Purchase Faculty-Staff Flex Meals
In addition to our meal plans, students can use debit spending accounts for food purchases:
- Meal Money — Money in this account is non-taxable (at the dining halls) for students living on campus and can be used at on-campus dining facilities, Munchie Marts, food trucks and Taste of Nashville restaurants. Unused Meal Money from the fall semester can be rolled over to the spring, but must be depleted by the end of the spring semester or the money is forfeited.
- Commodore Cash — Money in this account is taxable and fully refundable. It can be used in dining facilities, book stores, Munchie Marts, Sarratt ticket desk, post office, athletic concessions, Outdoor Recreation Center, Taste of Nashville locations, food trucks and at vending, laundry and copier machines.
Faculty-Staff Meal Plan
Available to Vanderbilt Faculty, Staff, Graduate and Professional Students
Graduate and professional students are not required to purchase a meal plan, but are offered at a bundled discounted rate and are redeemable at open Vanderbilt Campus Dining locations. Any selection will be billed to your student account and may be purchased here.
Faculty and staff who wish to purchase a meal plan, may do so with a credit card here.
Log in with your VUNetID credentials and follow the instructions. Please note meals are non-refundable and are not transferable.
Meal Plan FAQ:
All Vanderbilt students living on campus are required to participate in a meal plan. On-campus students will be automatically be enrolled in a meal plan based on a student's cohort year at Vanderbilt. Example: Sophomores receive the Sophomore Plan, with 19 meals per week.
If you are a Vanderbilt student living off campus, you do not need to purchase a meal plan but can opt-in to any residential meal plan. They are the same plans that are offered on campus, yet are subject to TN state sales tax.
Meal plans are a required component of the residential undergraduate cost of attendance and exceptions are not granted.
(Students residing at OHARE at the Village at Vanderbilt are considered on-campus for the purposes of meal plan requirements)
To purchase a meal plan, visit: vanderbi.lt/mymealplan
All Vanderbilt students living on campus are required to have meal plan. Students are automatically enrolled into a meal plan based on your year at Vanderbilt. Example: Sophomores receive the Sophomore Plan, with 19 meals per week.
If you are a Vanderbilt Student who lives off campus, you do not need to purchase a meal plan but can purchase any of residential meal plan. They are the same plans that are offered on campus, yet are taxed.
For off-campus students who wish to purchase a meal plan or those who want to upgrade your meal plan, you may do that here.
Students with an undergraduate meal plan (21, 19, or 14) receive an allotment of meals each week. Meals reset weekly at 11:59pm Sunday.
For the 2022-23 academic year, there is no daily limit on the number of times you can redeem a meal. Students can redeem meal swipes up to three times per 60 minute period. This meal swipe policy will be consistent in all Campus Dining locations, including dining halls, cafes, and Munchie Marts.
Students enrolled in the optional All-Access plan can swipe in and out of residential dining locations as many times as they wish. Students enrolled in the optional All-Access plan can swipe once per day at any retail location, in addition to enjoying unlimited visits in Residential dining halls.
Vanderbilt takes great pride being named "Best Overall Food Allergy Program, 2021" by MenuTrinfo. Most all of our food in dining halls have allergens clearly marked, and can be viewed on our NetNutrition menu builder at vu.edu/menus. In addition, all residential dining halls are certified peanut and treenut free, with the exception of Rothschild. For further questions, please reach out to our Registered Dietitan, for assistance on navigating your way through Vanderbilt's dining facilities. Emily Svennevik, MPH, RD, LDN at dietitian@vanderbilt.edu.
As of Spring 2023, students not enrolled in the All-Access plan are limited to five meal swipes per day.
Vanderbilt Campus Dining takes its role seriously in providing healthy and nutritious options for all students - including those with unique dietary preferences or allergies. To help find menu options that fit everyone's unique needs, we encourage students to visit our NetNutrition menu planning tool at vu.edu/menus. For more comprehensive information regarding special dietary requirements and how to navigate any accommodatoins, our Registered Dietitian, Emily Svennivik, is available to meet privately and confidentially with students. Emily can be reached via email at dietitian@vanderbilt.edu. For quick nutrition questions, you can now text Emily directly - simply text "AskEmily" + your question - to 55744 from your mobile device.
Faculty staff can buy meals in bundles of 10 using a credit card here.
These are two different accounts with separate funds.
- Meal Money is an additional debit spending account available for food purchases. Meal Money can be used at on-campus dining locations, vending and Munchie Marts as well as off-campus participating Taste of Nashville restaurants. With the student VU Meal Plan, you will receive an alotted amount per semester of Meal Money.
- Commodore Cash is a debit spending account which can be used to make cash-free purchases at any campus location that accepts the Commodore Card (your student, faculty or staff ID). This account does not come with the VU Meal Plan, but may be added as you see fit. Money on this account is taxable and is fully refundable. The locations to use Commodore Cash include:
- Dining Locations
- Vanderbilt Bookstore
- Vanderbilt Printing Services
- Munchie Marts
- Vending
- Laundry and Copier Machines
- Sarratt Ticket Desk
- Post Office
- Athletic Concessions
- Outdoor Recreation Center