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Policies

Our meal plan policies help ensure an enjoyable dining experience for everyone.

Terms of Agreement

  • Meal plans provide meals for each academic semester.  Fall and Spring Meal Plans are sold separately.
  • Meal swipes on our plans can't be carried forward from one semester to the next or be converted to JumboCash — so use them up! Check your balance at www.jumbocash.net
  • Tufts Dining also offers Winter Session and Summer Session Meal Plans.
  • See our Meal Plan Important Dates for start and end dates for our meal plans.
  • All scheduled serving days are in accordance with the University academic calendar and are subject to change if the calendar should be revised.
  • Students understand that dining services may be impacted by supply chain, labor, staffing, and other issues. Additionally, while Tufts University will do its best to maintain continuity of service under any circumstances, students understand and agree that they will remain financially responsible for these services despite the temporary interruption, reduction, and/or modification of services.

Dining Center Rules

The following conditions apply.

  • Our dining centers are all-you-care-to-eat. Students may take seconds while in the dining center.
  • Food selected by each student must be either consumed while in the dining center or taken out in one of our reusable takeout containers. You may not “double dip” by eating while in Dewick or Carm and then taking a second meal as takeout. If you choose to both eat in and take out, you must use two meal swipes to do so.
  • Students may take a hand-held cookie, ice cream cone, or whole fruit when leaving the facility.
  • Tufts Dining strives to reduce food waste. We request that all patrons take only what they can reasonably eat.

Meal Swipes & Equivalencies

A swipe has a cash value or equivalency (amount depends on the meal period) that can be used in certain Tufts Dining retail locations. 1 swipe will be deducted.

2023–24 Meal Swipe Equivalencies:

  • Breakfast: $7.98
  • Lunch: $13.62
  • Dinner: $14.97
  • Commons Late Night: $13.62
     

Meal Swipe Equivalency may be used in these Tufts Dining locations:

  • Hodgdon
  • Kindlevan Café
  • Pax et Lox Glatt Kosher Deli  
  • SMFA Café
  • Commons Late Night

Swipes allowed per day:

Premium meal plan holders:

  • Up to 10 swipes per day
  • Of the 10 total swipes, a maximum of 1 per meal period may be used at a retail location that accepts meal swipe equivalency (Hodgdon, Kindlevan, Pax et Lox, SMFA Café, Late Night at Commons).
  • Students can use multiple swipes per meal period at Carmichael and Dewick, up to the daily limit.
  • Each swipe used will be deducted from your plan’s 400 swipe per semester total

All other meal plans holders:

  • Up to 6 swipes per day
  • Of the 6 total swipes, a maximum of 1 per meal period may be used at a retail location that accepts meal swipe equivalency (Hodgdon, Kindlevan, Pax et Lox, SMFA Café, Late Night at Commons). 
  • Students can use multiple swipes per meal period at Carmichael and Dewick, up to the daily limit.
  • Each swipe used will be deducted from your semester total.

The meal periods are defined as:

  • Breakfast: Open–10:59 am
  • Lunch: 11:00 am–4:59 pm
  • Dinner: 5:00 pm–Close
  • Commons Late Night: Friday & Saturday 9:00pm–12:30am

Guest Swipe Policy:

Guest swipes are separate, additional swipes and do not draw down your meal plan balance

  • Premium Plan: 8 guest meals per semester
  • 220 Plan: 6 guest meals per semester
  • 160 Plan: 6 guest meals per semester
  • 100 Plan: 6 guest meals per semester 
  • 80 Plan: 2 guest meals per semester 
  • 40 Plan: 0 guest meals per semester 

Your ID Card

  • You need your Tufts ID card to access Carmichael and Dewick-MacPhie Dining Centers.
  • For security, your ID card may not be used by others.
  • Meal plan privileges are not transferable.
  • Using someone else’s ID or allowing someone to use your ID is prohibited and may result in disciplinary action.

Lost or Stolen ID Cards

If your Tufts ID is lost or stolen, you should immediately:

  • contact campus police via the non-emergency line and
  • log in to your JumboCash account and use the designated link to report your card as lost or stolen.
  • Reporting a lost or stolen card will block unauthorized JumboCash spending and use of the lost or stolen card. There may be a replacement fee for lost or stolen cards.

To contact your campus police via the non-emergency line, call:

  • Boston Health Sciences and Boston SMFA Campus Police: 617-636-6610
  • Grafton Campus Police: 508-839-5053
  • Medford/Somerville Campus Police: 617-627-3030

Penalties and Proration

If you change your meal plan during the semester, your costs for the plan will follow our proration policy and may be subject to penalties. For more information on timing, please review our Important Dates.

When you make changes to your plan, proration for your previous meal plan will go into effect the Saturday of the week the change has been requested. For example, if you submit a change on a Tuesday, your old plan will be in effect until Friday. Charges for the new plan will begin on Saturday and continue through the remainder of the semester. Proration is calculated by the meal.

The penalty for changing plans after the semester deadline is 50% of the difference in cost between the two plans on the effective date of the change if switching to a smaller plan.

Have questions? Contact us — we’re here to help!