Orientation Dining

Welcome to Tufts!

Here's some helpful info about eating with Tufts Dining during Early Arrival/Pre-O/or First-Year Orientation

Student at Tufts PreOrientation Wilderness program

Friday, August 28: Pre-O Arrival

Arriving early to participate in a Pre-O program? The Pre-O meal plan may be used at either of our two campus dining centers – Fresh at Carmichael and Dewick-MacPhie. Students may bring family members to eat free of charge for breakfast or lunch on Pre-O arrival date. Students are required to use their Tufts ID to enter the dining centers and must accompany their guests.

IMPORTANT: If your Pre-O program is hosting a picnic/meal not at a Tufts Dining location, and you choose to dine with Tufts Dining instead, you will be charged for that meal (if your program has not covered it). Please check with your program leader for your program's dining schedule.

Fresh at Carmichael & Dewick-MacPhie Dining Centers

Breakfast 7am – 10am
Lunch 11am – 2pm
Dinner 5pm – 7:30pm
Please note: our dining centers close between meal periods during Pre-Orientation/Orientation.
See all Pre-O and Orientation Hours of Operation

Hotung Café in the Mayer Campus Center will be open 8am – 3pm. Hotung Café offers specialty Starbucks coffee and tea, acai bowls, breakfast sandwiches, avocado toast, bagels, flatbreads and more. MasterCard/Visa/Discover, cash, or JumboCash accepted.

Tufts Dining staff pose together in front of a café register

Tuesday, Spetember 1: Dining Staff Meeting

All units will close early at 1:00pm so that our staff may attend a department-wide meeting. Carmichael and Dewick-MacPhie Dining Centers will reopen for dinner at 5pm.

Wednesday, September 2: First-Year Orientation Arrival

First-year students not participating in Pre-O programs arrive. The Orientation meal plan includes one meal swipe per meal period that can be used at either of our two campus dining centers – Fresh at Carmichael and Dewick-MacPhie. Students may bring family members to eat free of charge for breakfast or lunch on the Orientation arrival date. Students are required to use their Tufts ID to enter the dining centers and must accompany their guests.

Fresh at Carmichael & Dewick-MacPhie Dining Centers

Breakfast 7am – 10am
Lunch 11am – 3pm
Dinner 5pm – 8pm
Please note: our dining centers close between meal periods during Pre-Orientation/Orientation.
See all Pre-O and Orientation Hours of Operation

Students sitting in lawn chairs during Tufts First-Year Student Food Fair

Friday, September 4: First-Year Food Fair

Join us for our First-Year Food Fair on Friday, September 4 on the uphill Res Quad from 5:00-7:00pm! Enter with the wristband you received in your orientation packet. We'll have food tents set up on the Res Quad lawn (between Houston and Miller dorms) where our Tufts Dining units will showcase delicious options from their menus. See you there!

Sunday, September 6: Fall Meal Plans Begin

Fall 2026 meal plans begin with breakfast. Fall meal plans allow for meal equivalency in retail locations and multiple dining center swipes per meal period. See our Meal Plan FAQs for more information.

Fall 2026 meal plans do NOT begin until breakfast Sunday, September 6, 2026.
During Early Arrival/Pre-O/Orientation you are on an Orientation meal plan.
Orientation meal plans have different rules than our Fall/Spring meal plans.
Only one meal swipe per meal period is allowed. The Pre-O/Orientation meal periods are defined as: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Our dining centers close between meal periods during Pre-O/Orientation.
Pre-O/Orientation meal swipes are only used at Carmichael & Dewick Dining Centers.
No meal equivalency in retail locations is allowed.
No guest meals are included with the Pre-O/Orientation meal plans. If you want a second meal, or to bring in a guest, purchase that meal with JumboCash, cash, or credit card. Exception: During the Pre-O arrival (August 28, 2026) and Orientation arrival, (September 2, 2026), we invite arriving students and their families to enjoy a free breakfast or lunch in one of our dining centers.
For more information, see the University's Orientation page