What to Look for in a College Meal Plan: Insights from One of The Princeton Review’s Top-Ranked Campus Dining Programs

SPONSORED BY ROLLINS COLLEGE

Food shapes daily campus life. It affects how students manage their schedules, maintain their health, and connect with one another. When evaluating a college meal plan, variety, flexibility, and reliability are key considerations when choosing a college.

Rollins College, located in Winter Park, Florida, is recognized in The Princeton Review’s Best 391 Colleges guide and ranks #15 for Best Campus Food. Its dining program reflects what students and families should look for when comparing campuses.

1. Variety and Consistency

Questions to Explore:

• Will I want to eat on campus regularly?
• Is there enough variety to avoid menu fatigue?
• Can the dining program handle daily volume without cutting quality?

Rollins’ main dining hall, known as the Campus Center (CC), offers all-you-can-eat dining seven days a week and serves as the largest daily gathering space on campus. It seats 495 students, serves more than 2,000 meals per day, and offers 100+ menu items per dining hour, supported by a five-week menu rotation and themed events.

Stations include allergen-free, vegan, gluten-free, international, grill, comfort food, deli, soup, salad, dessert, and made-to-order options. Student favorites include Buffalo Chicken Salad Wednesdays, Taco Tuesdays, Midnight Breakfast, Asian cuisine, and other cultural heritage menus from around the globe.

2. Flexibility that Fits Student Schedules

Questions to Explore:

• Can I eat when and where I want?
• How flexible are dining dollars across campus?
• Are there strong retail and grocery-style options?

Rollins meal plans allow Dining Dollars* to be used at any campus dining location, including entry into the all-you-can-eat dining hall. Students may choose from a range of plans offering a variety of meal swipes* and Dining Dollar combos, providing flexibility across dining formats.

The Fox Lodge is the main dining center, a large space that also houses retail offerings, with a café serving made-to-order drinks, pastries, and flatbreads, and The Grill offering burgers, chicken tenders, wraps, breakfast sandwiches, and milkshakes. The on-campus C-Store functions as a boutique grocery market with roughly 3,000 curated options, including fresh produce, sushi, kosher foods, chef-prepared grab-and-go meals, and specialty items.

* New to college dining terminology? Dining Dollars work like cash on campus. They are also loaded onto your student ID and can be used to purchase food at all retail dining locations across campus. Meal swipes are designed for entry into the main dining hall. Each time you eat in the dining hall, one swipe is deducted from your account. These are preloaded on your student ID and reset each week. Dining Dollars can also be used in the dining hall for individual purchases, instead of using a meal swipe.

3. Dining Spaces Across Campus

Questions to Explore:

• Does the dining program prioritize health and accommodate diverse dietary needs?
• Are there resources available to support your wellness goals?

Retail dining** locations are distributed across campus. In addition to The Fox Lodge, there is Cornell Café, a fast-casual Tex-Mex favorite known as “Tar-potlé,” (in reference to the Rollins mascot, Tommy the Tar!), which serves customizable tacos, burritos, bowls, and salads. Bush Café serves Starbucks^Ⓡ  beverages and is popular for baked goods.

The Grind, which opened in Fall 2024 inside the library, offers custom drinks, grab-and-go items, açaí bowls, and boba tea, drawing students into a shared academic space.

** More dining terms! Retail dining refers to restaurant- or cafe-style options, where students can easily use their meal plan, while traditional campus dining refers to dining halls with rotating menus and, in many cases, all-you-can-eat offerings, which is what is offered by Rollins College

4. Staff, Support, and Student Experience

Questions to Explore:

• Do dining staff members feel familiar and accessible?
• Is there continuity among the staff from year to year?
• Do students feel recognized and supported?

Rollins Dining’s combined staff tenure approaches 900 years, reflecting a long-standing commitment to the campus community. Student feedback consistently highlights staff approachability and familiarity.

In the most recent college-wide survey, Dining Services ranked second in overall customer satisfaction, and Dining’s internal survey rated Staff Friendliness at 4.8 out of 5.

5. Wellness, Allergens, and Sustainability

Questions to Explore:

• How are special dietary needs handled on a day-to-day basis?
• Is support available beyond posted menus?
• Are sustainability efforts measurable?

Rollins operates a nationally recognized food allergy program and maintains a peanut-free campus. Simple Servings, located in The Marketplace, prepares meals free of the top nine allergens in a dedicated kitchen staffed by AllerTrainU Gold-certified employees, and has earned Gold Certification through external audits for three consecutive years. Registered dietitian consultations and culinary tours are available to students and families.

Sustainability initiatives include LeanPath, which has saved the equivalent of 33,260 meals and avoided 126 metric tons of CO₂, and an ORCA biodigester that has processed more than 32,000 pounds of food waste. Single-use plastics have been largely eliminated from dining halls and catering operations.

Questions to Ask on a College Tour

When evaluating campus dining on your college visits, focus on how the program functions on a typical day. Don’t just ask questions—be sure to eat a meal while you are on campus!

• Does the food taste good, and would you eat it regularly? Campus dining is often the most convenient option during busy weeks, so quality matters.
• How flexible is the meal plan? Ask where Dining Dollars can be used and whether there are spending limits at retail locations.
• Are there grocery-style options on campus? Access to fresh produce, grab-and-go meals, and specialty dietary items can make a real difference.
• How are dietary needs supported? Look for dedicated allergen-free preparation spaces, trained staff, and access to a registered dietitian.
• Do dining spaces fit student routines? Consider location, hours of operation, and whether there are places to eat near classes, residence halls, and study spaces.
• Do students and staff interact regularly? Familiar faces and consistent staffing can shape the daily experience as much as the food itself.
  

At Rollins College, these questions are addressed through a dining program designed to support student routines across multiple locations, schedules, and dietary needs—an approach reflected in its national recognition for campus dining.

Learn more about Rollins College