R&DE Student Dining

Jamie Oliver teaches cooking class to Stanford Students, 2015

Dining with your housemates is an integral part of the Residential Education program by helping to develop strong communities in the residences. R&DE Stanford Dining promotes great tasting food with an educational dining experience, engaging students in topics related to food, wellness, sustainability, and performance dining.

High quality, seasonal, locally-produced, sustainable foods are featured in every dining hall. Fresh fruit and performance dining menus are available along with a daily variety of nutritious options for all types of diners, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, kosher, and halal. In addition, R&DE Stanford Dining regularly offers dishes from global regions, such as India, Mexico/Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Mediterranean.

Meal Plans

Your Stanford ID card is your dining meal card and you must have it with you to enter the dining halls. There are three All-You-Care-To-Eat meal plans to choose from that can be used in any of the dining halls. Every new student is assigned to the 14 meals/week plan. You may switch to one of the other two plans at any time online. At the end of the day every Saturday, the next week’s meal allotment (19, 14, or 10) is added to your card. Any unused meals expire at the end of the week (Saturday after dinner). Meal swipes can also be used at all home football games in the Stanford Stadium.

Meal Plan Descriptions

  • 19 All-You-Care-To-Eat Meals per Week
  • 14 All-You-Care-To-Eat Meals per Week

420 Meal Plan Dollars per Year

  • 10 All You-Care-To-Eat Meal per Week

750 Meal Plan Dollars per Year

Meal Plan Dollars may be used at any R&DE Stanford Dining location and select R&DE Stanford Hospitality & Auxiliaries cafés.

Refer online for information about Meal Plan Dollars and for a Stanford Dining FAQ. If you wish to change your meal plan after you arrive or you need answers to your questions about dining, see the dining manager in your dining hall, the meal plan office at Arrillaga Family Dining Commons, or your Housing Front Desk.

Hours

The dining halls offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Monday through Friday, and brunch and dinner on weekends. Late night dining is available from 9:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. at Arrillaga Family Dining Commons, Lakeside Dining, and R&DE Stanford Hospitality & Auxiliaries’ The Axe & Palm Café. Continuous dining from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. weekdays can be found at Arrillaga Family Dining Commons.

Guest Meals

Your meal plan also provides additional guest meals which allow you to invite a friend, relative, or faculty member to eat with you without additional cost. Every meal plan provides five guest meals each quarter.

Religious Food Practices

R&DE Stanford Dining values cultural and religious diversity and supports students’ specific dietary requirements. In partnership with students and Hillel, there are three kosher meals served each week for students who have signed up to participate in the kosher dining program in Florence Moore Hall. You may request an exemption to the meal plan for religious reasons; religious exemption applications are processed by the Office for Religious Life, religiouslife.stanford.edu.

Food Allergen Accommodations

If you have a food allergy that requires special housing accommodations, please contact the Office of Accessible Education to file a request for a special housing accommodation and check the appropriate box at the top of the Housing Preferences Form. For information on the Peanut Sensitive Program located at Ricker Dining Hall, the Gluten-Free Microkitchen located at Arrillaga Family Dining Commons, or accommodations for other food allergies, please contact the Wellness and Performance Nutritionist at nutritionist@stanford.edu.

Stanford Hospitality & Auxiliaries Retail Cafés

Stanford Hospitality and Auxiliaries manages retail cafés, athletic concessions, catering, the Market at Munger and the Stanford Guest House allowing students to make purchases with Cardinal Dollars, Meal Plan Dollars and the StanfordCardPlan. This gives students flexibility 7 days a week even when the dining halls are closed. Refer online for a full list of retail cafés.

Cardinal Dollars

Purchased in addition to the All-You-Care-To-Eat meal plan, Cardinal Dollars are similar to Meal Plan Dollars and are an optional, flexible, cashless spending option that function like cash or a debit card but provide additional bonus dollars at the time of purchase.