Meal plans offer flexibility, discounts for off-campus students

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Students making the transition from on-campus to off-campus living in the fall don’t necessarily have to start grocery shopping and cooking their own meals. Three meal plan options are available for off-campus students so they can enjoy the convenience, quality and variety of food choices available on campus.LionCash+Off-campus students who like to eat on campus as well as in town should consider activating a LionCash+ account. With LionCash+, students enjoy discounts at many on- and off-campus locations as well as the convenience of cash-free purchasing with the Penn State id+ Card. It’s easy to open a LionCash+ account — just deposit the cash and it’s ready to go.For more information about LionCash+, visit www.idcard.psu.edu/IDCard/LionCash.Commuter Meal PlanWith the Commuter Meal Plan, students living off campus receive 10 percent discounts on meals at Penn State dining commons and other campus dining locations. Two plan levels are available — Level 1 for $500 and Level 2 for $1,000 — and students purchase the plan by depositing funds into their Bursar account.If students have dining dollars left over at the end of fall semester, those funds carry over into the spring semester, but those left over from spring semester are forfeited. The Commuter Meal Plan is not available during Penn State’s Maymester or summer sessions.The deadline to apply for a fall 2013 Commuter Meal Plan package is 5 p.m. Friday, July 12, and the spring 2014 deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15.For more information about the Commuter Meal Plan.Campus Meal PlanOff-campus students who eat 14 or more meals each week at the dining commons should consider purchasing a Campus Meal Plan, which offers the best value at the all-you-care-to-eat dining commons and residential retail locations. Students can choose from several plan levels, and they purchase the plan by depositing funds into their Bursar account.For more information about the Campus Meal Plan.Visit www.mealplans.psu.edu for more information on all three meal plan options, including a comparison chart detailing the features of each plan.