Top 10 Things to Know About Your GW Meal Plan

For those who are new to on-campus dining, our team has put together this "one-stop-shop" for understanding your GW Meal Plan. Click into each accordion below to establish a baseline of knowledge that will help you eat on campus and get the most out of your meal plan funds.

1. Fund Terminology

Every GW Dining Meal Plan includes a combination of swipes and Dining Dollars. Certain meal plans also include Flex Meals.

What is a swipe?

A swipe is the primary on-campus fund that comes with your GW Dining Meal Plan. A swipe can be used to either grant you entry into one of our three all-you-care-to-eat dining halls or to purchase a Meal Deal from a quick-service retail location.

Things to note:

Swipes do not rollover to future semesters. Any you have remaining on your account will expire at the end of each semester.
A swipe is not equivalent to any particular dollar value. A swipe is simply equivalent to one on-campus meal.

What are Dining Dollars?

Dining Dollars are declining balance funds that come with your GW Dining Meal Plan. Dining dollars are stored on your GWorld ID card and can be used to purchase food both on- and off-campus. These funds work as a dollar to dollar equivalent - therefore in the scenario a student purchases a $5 food item, they will have $5 deducted from their dining dollar balance.

Things to note:

On-campus purchases with dining dollars are tax free.
Dining dollars do rollover to future semesters.
You always have the ability to add more dining dollars if needed throughout the semester using the GET Mobile App.
These funds can only be used to purchase food.

What is a Flex Meal?

A Flex Meal is a specialty swipe option that is only available to students enrolled in the All Access, Vern All Access, or Revolutionary 85 Meal Plans.

Each week (Sunday - Saturday), students enrolled in those plans receive three Flex Meals to use at the following locations:

Chick-fil-A
Panda Express
District House Market (Market Bundle Deals)
Peet's Coffee (located inside of District House)

Things to note:

The weekly allotment of Flex Meals will reset each Sunday at midnight. Flex Meals do not carry over into future weeks if they are not used.
For those enrolled in the Revolutionary 85 Meal Plan, using a Flex Meal will cause one of your All Access Days to begin.

2. All Access vs. Revolutionary 85 vs. Block Meal Plans

It is important to know how your specific meal plan works. Confirm which meal plan you are enrolled in, and click into the corresponding accordion below.

All Access or Vern All Access

This meal plan includes:

One swipe per hour, every day of the semester
Dining Dollars
Three Flex Meals allotted per week

Things to keep in mind:

This plan does not allow you to use more than one swipe at a time. Since you are restricted to one swipe per hour on this plan, in the event that you attempt to dine twice or more in the same hour you will be charged Dining Dollars for additional transactions.
The time your hour renews is based on your last swipe used. For example, if you use one swipe at 1:32 pm, you will become eligible to swipe again starting at 2:32 pm and onward.
The weekly Flex Meal allotment will reset each Sunday at 12 am.
Flex Meals do not carry over into future weeks if they are not used.

Revolutionary 85

This meal plan includes:

85 All Access Days where you can swipe once per hour
Dining Dollars
Three Flex Meals allotted per week

Things to keep in mind:

This plan does not allow you to use more than one swipe at a time. Since you are restricted to one swipe per hour on this plan, in the event that you attempt to dine twice or more in the same hour you will be charged Dining Dollars for additional transactions.
The time your hour renews is based on your last swipe used. For example, if you use one swipe at 1:32 pm, you will become eligible to swipe again starting at 2:32 pm and onward.
You select which days of the semester you want to use your meal plan. Using one meal swipe will begin one of your All Access Days.
Using a Flex Meal will cause one of your All Access Days to begin.
The weekly Flex Meal allotment will reset each Sunday at 12 am.
Flex Meals do not carry over into future weeks if they are not used.

Block & Commuter

This meal plan includes:

A block amount of swipes for the entire semester
Dining Dollars

Things to keep in mind:

Since you receive a block amount of swipes, you can choose to use them as you see fit. These swipes have no time restriction, which allows you to use more than one at a time if you would like to do so.
These plans do not include a weekly allotment of Flex Meals.

3. Where You Can Use Your Funds

Swipes will only be accepted at on-campus dining locations, run by GW Dining.

On-campus, we have three all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities, as well as many other quick-service locations and markets. Check out the full list of GW Dining on-campus locations.

Dining Dollars are accepted at both on-campus and off-campus dining partner locations.

Off-campus dining partners are locations that are not run and operated by the GW Dining Services Department. These are external businesses that have agreed to accept Dining Dollar funds. Check out the full list of off-campus dining partners.

Flex Meals are accepted at the following locations:

Chick-fil-A
Panda Express
District House Market (Market Bundle Deals)
Peet's Coffee (located inside of District House)

4. Online Hours of Operation

If you are ever wondering which GW Dining locations are open at any time, you can check our hours of operation online.

The website allows our team to update operating hours in real time, so the online platform will also account for any adjustments to operating hours (such as university holidays, unexpected closures, etc.).

During university holidays and final exams hours are subject to change.

5. Check Menus Before You Go Dine

See what's on the menu online before deciding where you may want to go eat each day. Our online menus allow you to filter menus by date, dining location, and meal period.

6. OZZI: Residential To-Go Containers

If you want to take food to-go from one of our three dining halls, you will need to be aware of the "Rev N' Go" OZZI Program. To support sustainability efforts and eliminate single-use items, GW Dining offers OZZI reusable to-go containers for you to take food from the dining hall wherever you want to go eat!

How the Program Works:

Get your token. Residential students will receive a token in their room at move-in, and then replacement tokens can be purchased for $10 dining dollars at the GW Dining Office (District House B205) throughout the school year.
At the dining hall, you will then exchange your token for a to-go box at the front cash register
Simply fill the container with food from the line and exit the dining hall with your food.
Then once you are finished eating, you will bring the used container back to one of our dining halls and dispense it into the OZZI receptacle bin at the entrance. Tip: GW Dining staff will take care of cleaning the used containers to ensure they are ready for the next guest.
The machine will give you back a token to start the cycle all over again.

7. Dining with Dietary Restrictions

At GW Dining, our primary goal is to ensure all students have a worry-free dining experience when eating on campus. Our dining program caters to a multitude of special diets and allergen restrictions, and will continue to expand and evolve dining offerings overtime to meet the needs of our students and the GW Community.

Please review the section(s) that are relevant to you. More information can be found on our Dietary Support page.

Food Allergies

Dining Hall Allergen-Friendly Stations

GW Dining operates a robust food allergy program in each of its all-you-care-to-eat dining halls on campus. This program includes Pure Eats which eliminates the top 9 allergens (milk, eggs, nuts, fish, crustaceans, shellfish, wheat, soy, and sesame) from the menu and the Avoiding Gluten station, both of which have a separate designated area for cooking and preparation that is separate from the larger kitchens.

Avoiding Tree Nuts & Peanuts

We are a tree nut and peanut avoidant campus. Products or ingredients that state the following on package labels will not be purchased or brought into any food preparation, kitchen, or foodservice area, aside from our national brands & excluding the use of coconut: Contains peanuts, contains nuts, or contains tree nuts; May contain peanuts or tree nuts; Made on shared equipment that also produces peanuts or tree nuts. Items with the statement "made in a facility that produces or handles peanuts, tree nuts, or nuts" may be purchased and used within the foodservice operation. Product labels will be shared with diners upon request.

No tree nuts or peanuts are served in any of our dining facilities. The only instances when nuts will be found in on-campus dining facilities are:

In pre-packaged items in our markets
At national chain locations, such as Chick-fil-A and Panda Express

Ingredient Experts

GW Dining Staff is trained by the Registered Dietitian to ensure students feel comfortable sharing their dietary needs for specific accommodations in the dining halls. Our management, culinary staff, and allergen handling associates have completed a FARE-Certified food allergen training program, along with additional food allergy training specific to cross-contamination and meal preparation.

If you have questions about what food is being served on a daily basis, please ask one of our Ingredient Expert associates while in the dining hall. Ingredient Experts are our on-site managers, supervisors, and chefs who can be identified by their purple "Allergen Expert" clothing pins.

Spiritual Dining

Halal

Our halal food is certified from the Halal Food Council U.S.A.

100% of all chicken products (not pre-cooked) served across campus are certified-halal. The University Student Center (USC) includes two dining concepts, Chaat House and Absurd Bird, which both serve certified-halal chicken.

There are also two certified-halal options inside of District House: Baba's Pizza and Halal Shack.

Kosher

The kosher program is under the supervision of OU Kosher Certification Agency, Kosher Supervision by Orthodox Union.

Kosher meals are available at GW Zingers as part of the GW Dining Program. GW Zingers has a full time Mashgiach and kosher chef on staff.

Vegan, Vegetarian, and Plant-Based Dining

Our online menus and digital line identifiers (PIDs) identify all vegetarian options with a 'V' label and all vegan options with a 'VG' label.

GW Dining also has an official partnership with Beyond Meat. Part of this partnership includes showcasing Beyond Meat's plant-based protein options at the Rooted station. The Rooted station is available at all three of our all-you-care-to-eat dining halls, with a different menu for lunch and dinner on a daily basis.

8. Campus Registered Dietitian

Did you know that one-on-one appointments with our Campus Registered Dietitian, Catherine Nourse, is a free perk of your GW Meal Plan? Please use our full-time Campus Registered Dietitian as your main point of contact for all allergy or dietary-related questions and concerns.

You can use this link to make an appointment with the GW Dietitian. Or you can email Catherine directly at catherine [dot] noursegwu [dot] edu (catherine[dot]nourse[at]gwu[dot]edu).

Book Time with the GW Dietitian

9. Student Advisory Panel & Sharing Your Feedback

The best place to share your feedback for GW Dining is at our Student Advisory Panel (SAP) meetings. These monthly meetings are open to all members of the GW Community and pre-registration is not required.

At each dining hall on campus, we have digital Happy or Not Kiosks where you can submit feedback on your dining experience in real time.

GW Dining also conducts two Satisfaction Surveys each academic year, one at the beginning and one at the end. This survey is delivered to all students and faculty/staff members who are enrolled on a GW Meal Plan directly to their GW email.

Looking for other ways to share your feedback with GW Dining? Here are the other avenues you have available:

Call us at 202-994-FOOD (3663) , Monday - Friday, 8 am - 4 pm
Email us at dininggwu [dot] edu (dining[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Text us using the Text2Chat phone numbers advertised at each dining hall
Write us using the Contact Form on our website

10. Changing Your Meal Plan

Students enrolled in a GW Meal Plan have 5 days after their meal plan begins to make changes. Once the deadline passes, no changes can be made.

Each student is eligible to submit one change request per semester, therefore you should not submit a change request until you are certain of your new selection.

The process for changing your meal plan may change depending on time of year. If you are currently looking to change your GW Meal Plan, please reach out to the GW Dining Office directly to inquire about next steps. Tip: our contact information can be found in the footer of this page.