myChoice Meal Plan

For University Apartment & Commuter Students


The myChoice Meal Plan offers University apartment and commuter --who are not required to have a meal plan--the opportunity to explore and experience the benefits, variety and convenience of dining on campus with an abridged version of the myFlex Meal Plan.  The myChoice plan has NO FIXED SWIPES at resident dining rooms! You can choose--100% of the time--where YOU want to dine; however, unlike the myFlex plan, the myChoice plan does not allow additional Discount Dollars to be added and only one myChoice Plan can be purchased per semester.


The myChoice Meal Plan is a completely new kind of meal plan for the UAlbany campus!  It was designed in response to students' requests to have greater flexibility to eat at retail venues.   We also wanted to give students greater access to all the new and exciting Campus Center retail dining locations. 

The plan works as follows: 

  • The myChoiceMeal Plan has a base cost and a balance of Discount Dollars. This base cost covers utilities, maintenance, repairs, rent, and the labor needed to support the food service program.
  • The myChoice Meal Plan allows you to use your Discount Dollars like a declining balance account on your ID card.  Discount Dollars can be used at all retail and resident dining locations for meals and beverages.  Each time you use your ID card at a dining location, your meal plan’s Discount Dollars will get activated and the venue-specific discount ( a 50% discount at campus/Sodexo retail brands and 30% discount at local/national retail brands) will be automatically calculated and the balance will be debited for your purchase. Your Discount Dollars’ remaining balance will appear on the register display and your receipt. Remember also your meal plan is tax free, so you will also be saving an additional 8% on all discounted sale prices. Please note that other campus funds will not activate these discounts, i.e., Munch Money, Podium, Campus Gold, F/S Dining Plan. 
Meal Plan Discounts
60% off your purchase
50% off your purchase                
30% off your purchase
State Dining Room
 
Indigenous Dining Room
 
 
1844 Restaurant
Al Dente
Calypso
Corner Deli 
Fresh Fruit Bar
Fountain Grill
Stocks & Stems 
SubConnection
Tres Habaneros
Morris's Cafe
Downtown Cafe
 
Starbucks  
Argo Tea
ETEC Cafe
East Cafe  
Baba's Pizza
Jamal's Chicken
Umai Fusion
Umai Ramen   
Umai Sushi 
Nikos Cafe   
The Halal Shack
Nikos Cafe
518 Market (excluding prepackaged goods)
Sweet Shop
 

For example:

    If you eat at Indigenous Quad Dining Room, you pay: 

        $14.75* without Discount Dollars (plus tax)
        $5.90* with Discount Dollars (60% discount, no tax added) 

    If you go to the Fountain Grill and order a burger, fries and 24 oz beverage, you will pay: 

        $12.17* without Discount Dollars (plus tax)
        $6.09* with Discount Dollars (50% discount, no tax added) 

Note: Prices on the menu boards list the current retail prices. For students on meal plans, there is signage clearly indicating what discount is offered per venue (i.e., 60%, 50% or 30%). Applicable discounts are reflected at registers. 

Meal plans are purchased per semester. The per semester pricing and details of the myChoice Meal Plan are as follows:

Plan Option

Fall 2022 Price

Base CostDiscount Dollars
myChoice #1
$1,250
$550
$700
myChoice #2
$1000
$450
$550
myChoice #3
$750
$350
$400

*The base cost covers utilities, maintenance, repairs, rent and the labor needed to support the food service program.

  • Available to university apartment (including SUNY Poly) and commuter students of any class standing if not already required to be on a different meal plan.
  • Only one myChoice Meal Plan can be purchased per semester 
  • Additional Discount Dollars cannot be purchased
  • University Apartment or commuter students can change to any other myChoice Meal Plan (#1 - #3) or myFlex Plan (#1 - #5) during the add/change period.
  • SUNY Poly students living at UAlbany may have different meal plan requirements based upon class year and residence. Please click here for additional details and information.
  • Meal plans are purchased per semester. 
  • Discount Dollars activate discounts at all campus-wide retail dining venues (50% off Sodexo/in-house brands and 30% off local/regional/national brands) and resident dining rooms (60% off) 
  • 518 Market and vending do not provide a discount when using Discount Dollars (use Munch Money/Podium/Campus Gold/cash/credit) 
  • Discount Dollars carry over from fall semester to spring semester but expire at the end of spring semester 
  • Tax free (additional 8% savings on discounted sales price). 

Additional information:

        SUNY Poly students living at UAlbany may have different meal plan requirements based upon class year and residence. Please click here for additional details and information.

  • Meal plans are activated when residence halls officially open for occupancy and end when they officially close. During times when the residence hall dining rooms are closed, but the resident halls are open, Discount Dollars and/or Munch Money can be used in retail locations. 
  • Non-freshmen students that have studied abroad, completed an internship or were off-campus for another approved reason during the previous semester and are now living in a residence hall, will automatically be assigned to the myFlex Meal Plan #2, but can change during the add/change period. 
  • If a residence hall student moves into a University apartment or off-campus, his/her meal plan will be removed unless the student notifies the ID Card office requesting the continuation of his/her meal plan. 
  • All meal plans (i.e., myUnlimited, myFlex, and myChoice) and Munch Money are exempt from NYS sales tax, and therefore cannot be used to purchase guest meals, and cannot be refunded, changed or transferred after the add/drop period.

See the UAlbany Dining Meal Plan Refund/Change Policy at www.ualbanydining.com for more information.