Orientation Dining
Welcome to Tufts!
Here's some helpful info about eating with Tufts Dining during Early Arrival/Pre-O/or Orientation
Friday, August 22: Pre-O Arrival
Arriving early to participate in a Pre-O program? The Pre-O 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 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 their dining schedule.
Fresh at Carmichael & Dewick-MacPhie Dining Centers
- Breakfast 7am – 10am
- Lunch 11am – 2pm
- Dinner 5pm – 7pm
- Please note: our dining centers close between meal periods during Pre-Orientation/Orientation.
Hotung Café in the Mayer Campus Center will be open 8am – 3pm accepting MasterCard/Visa/Discover, cash, or JumboCash. Hotung Café offers specialty Starbucks coffee and tea drinks, acai bowls, breakfast sandwiches, avocado toast, bagels, craft pizza and more.
Tuesday, August 26: Dining Staff Meeting
Dining units will close early at 1:00pm so that our staff may attend a department-wide meeting. The Dining Centers will reopen for dinner at 5pm.
Wednesday, August 27: 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.
Hotung Café in the Mayer Campus Center will be open 8am – 3pm accepting MasterCard/Visa/Discover, cash, or JumboCash. Hotung Café offers specialty Starbucks coffee and tea drinks, acai bowls. breakfast sandwiches, avocado toast, bagels, craft pizza, and more.
Friday, August 29: First-Year Food Fair
Join us for our First-Year Food Fair on Friday, August 29 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! NOTE: BRING YOUR WATER BOTTLE! To reduce single-use plastic, we will have a refillable water station at Food Fair!
Sunday, August 31: Fall Meal Plans Begin
Fall 2025 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 2025 meal plans do NOT begin until breakfast Sunday, August 31, 2025.
- 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/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 8/22/25 Pre-O arrival and 8/27/25 Orientation arrival, 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