Executive orders from the State of Colorado, coupled with the University’s public health directives that follow CDC and Larimer County guidelines for physical distancing, made the changes to Residential Dining necessary. We had to re-think the typical on-campus dining experience and switch to a primarily to-go/order ahead model, which has never been our primary mode of operation.
Over the summer of 2020, Residential Dining staff restructured our entire operation to align with the new guidelines, including developing a brand-new meal ordering system with a 3rd party vendor, switching from a primarily in-person dining operation to a to-go dining model, rewriting all menus, restructuring purchasing, training staff, developing communications and publications, changing the layouts within the dining centers, adding additional pick-up options and locations, and acquiring/distributing reusable cutlery sets for all hall residents. Since Move In and throughout Fall semester and Winter Break, we have made several improvements and operational shifts based upon our residents’ feedback. We continue to listen and adapt as guidance from the University and health officials evolve.
Residential Dining Services offers online a la carte ordering of hot and cold entrée items and sides at Durrell Express in the Durrell Center, Ram’s Horn in Academic Village, and RAMwich in Braiden Hall. The Mini Markets at Durrell and Ram’s Horn offer your favorite packaged and bottled groceries and beverages. Residential meal plans, RamCash, credit/debit card, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Wallet are accepted. Payments are processed when the order is placed at Express and Mini Market locations.
Residential meal plans carry a value of $7.75 per meal swipe at the Express and Mini Market Locations. Customers may select any combination of items that add up to $7.75. If your selections go over $7.75, the balance may be settled by using, RamCash, credit/debit card, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, or Google Wallet.
Example: You purchased food and drinks for $9.50 from Durrell Express. To settle the remaining balance of $1.25, customers can choose to use, RamCash, credit/debit card, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, or Google Wallet. Payment is processed at the time of your order. Bonus/flex meal swipes cannot be used at the Express and Mini Market locations.
If you would like to use two meal swipes during one meal period when you order online at these locations, you will need to place two separate orders. Orders made within 5 minutes of each other will be bundled together.
Executive orders from the State of Colorado, coupled with the University’s public health directives that follow CDC and Larimer County guidelines for physical distancing, made the changes to Residential Dining necessary. We had to re-think the typical on-campus dining experience and switch to a primarily to-go/order ahead model, which has never been our primary mode of operation.
Restaurants across the state/nation/world are wrestling with some of these changes too. The difference with on-campus dining is that we are accustomed to serving lines and buffets, which add an extra layer of complexity when serving 5,000+ on-campus residents on a daily basis: i.e. high volume, diversity of food selection, and range of dietary needs.
Over the summer of 2020, Residential Dining staff restructured our entire operation to align with the new guidelines, including developing a brand-new meal ordering system with a 3rd party vendor, switching from a primarily in-person dining operation to a to-go dining model, rewriting all menus, restructuring purchasing, training staff, developing communications and publications, changing the layouts within the dining centers, adding additional pick-up options and locations, and acquiring/distributing reusable cutlery sets for all hall residents.
To adhere to social distancing guidelines, we offer four distinct ways to use your meal plan on campus. To make this as easy as possible, an online ordering system must be used for the majority of your meals through myramcard.colostate.edu.
On-Campus meal plans can be used twice per meal period. Note that meal swipes will be processed at the time of your order and during the meal period in which the is being placed at the Express and Mini Market locations.
During Move-In, parents may get a meal from the dining centers with their student; however, complimentary parent/guest meals are suspended during the spring semester following Move-In to limit the number of people in the dining centers.
To use the required mobile ordering system, you must have a CSU eID.
Residence hall meal plans are weekly so unused meals do not roll over. These meal plans are designed to allow our on-campus students who live in the residence halls to better manage their meals each week rather than ending the semester with a block of unused meals. The weekly meal plans allow Dining Services to adequately plan operating costs. Without the ability to plan budgets at the beginning of the year and plan for staff, food costs, facility improvements, etc. we would have to raise meal plan rates.
The deadline for decreasing residence hall meal plans is two weeks after classes begin each semester. During this time, you can decrease your meal plan to better fit your needs. Meal plan increases are permitted at any time during the semester.
Manage your meal plan:
Each Residence hall meal plan includes 20 flexible bonus meals that can be used if you run out of meals. Additional flexible bonus meals can be purchased with a minimum of five meals. flexible bonus meals must be used in the semester they are purchased. Add meals at myramcard.colostate.edu
If you are seeking an exemption from the meal plan requirement due to a special dietary need, you will need to contact University Housing residence halls at (970) 491-6511 to acquire instructions and paperwork to complete.
Each Residence hall meal plan includes $150 RamCash separate from your meal balance that can be used for eating at venues on campus, vending machines, laundry, and parking. RamCash dollars carry over from semester to semester. Learn more about RamCash.
Fill out the meal-swipe-dispute-form and e-mail it to rds@colostate.edu
Our meal periods (for all residential dining centers) are as follows:
Please note: Meal swipes will be charged to the meal period an order is placed, not the pick-up time.
Yes! Email our office at rds@colostate.edu to request a refund. Refunds will be processed back to your student account within 5 business days. A $25 fee will be assessed on all refunds. Meals unfortunately cannot be transferred from one RamCard to another.
Go to eatwell.colostate.edu to get in contact with our Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. You can also find information about what we serve and how we identify certain ingredients.
No, your residential dining meal plan can only be used at one of our 5 full-service dining centers and 2 express locations housing.colostate.edu/dining/explore/. Please visit the Lory Student Center site to see their dining offerings lsc.colostate.edu/dining-at-the-lory-student-center/.
Once you arrive to pick up your meal from the dining centers, you are welcome to ask a dining staff member for a larger portion or additional items and we will do our best to accommodate you. If you want to fill more than one to-go container from more than one station, you may use up to two swipes per meal period. You may also visit a Grab & Go facility or place an Express or Mini Market order.
No. You can stop in at the following locations during their open hours without ordering ahead:
Hours of operation are listed at housing.colostate.edu/dining/hours.
Tip for online ordering: Place your reservation at Braiden, Durrell, The Foundry, and Ram’s Horn least 30 minutes in advance (more if you can) of your desired pickup time.
If your RamCard is not working, follow these steps to ensure you’ve activated it:
If you don’t have a RamCard or Temporary Dining Card but have a meal plan, you can still eat with us! You will need to provide our cashier with your CSU ID number when you come in for your meal. You can also order online at our Express and Mini Market locations.
If you need to inquire about getting a RamCard or have other questions and want to talk to someone, make an appointment with the RamCard Office at https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/RamCardOffice@colostate.edu/bookings/
A sick meal request allows a student to have a friend pick up a to-go meal for them from a dining center. If a student is sick, they may complete the Sick Meal Request form. The friend will need to present either a paper or electronic copy of the completed “Sick Meal Request” form to the cashier upon arrival. The cashier will charge the sick student’s RamCard account using their CSU ID number, and the friend can pick up a meal for the sick student.