FAQ

Students eat and chat at a table in the dining center.

2024- 25 Service


The Basics

Fall meal plans begin on August 17

You can use your meal plan swipes at any one of our following dining locations:

  • Bearcats Café - Carryout and Limited seating
  • Blue Ash Café on Blue Ash campus
  • Campus View Café - Meal Exchange
  • Teachers Café - Meal Exchange
  • CenterCourt - Dine in
  • Cincy Grill  - Meal Exchange
  • DAAP Café - Meal Exchange
  • MarketPointe- Dine in 
  • On The Green (OTG) - Dine in
  • Halal Shack - Meal Exchange once per week after 2 p.m.
  • StadiumView Café - Dine in and Carryout

Use your Bearcat Dollars at any available on-campus food location.

Yes, students are permitted to use their guest swipes in dining centers. Students without a meal plan can use cash, credit or Bearcat Card dollars to purchase a meal.

You can meet with our  full time Registered Dietitian Jackie Jones.

Please call 513-556-6461 or email UCFood@uc.edu.

All first-year students with a university housing agreement are required to purchase a residential meal plan.

Participation in the meal plan is an important part of the support system provided by living on campus. It is one element that enhances the academic efforts and social adjustment of new students and provides health and convenience benefits to all students.

Upper-class students and first year students that are commuters can choose to purchase a Residential Meal Plan or a Campus Dining Pass plan. They are not required to purchase a meal plan, however they must adhere to all meal plan change/cancellation policies once a plan is purchased. 

Yes! We offer the Campus Dining Pass to upper-class students living in the residence halls, commuting students, faculty, and staff. 


Bearcat Card Dollars & Meal Exchange

Meal Exchanges are defined as a meal swipe used at a retail location (Cafes or inside TUC). In simple terms, anytime a student uses their meal plan to get food outside of the dining halls, a meal exchange happens. On the All-Access Meal Plan you get 3 meal exchanges per day- 1 per meal period (meaning breakfast, lunch, and dinner).

Meal Exchange can be used at the following locations:

  • DAAP Café
  • Campus View Café
  • Halal Shack - once per week after 2 p.m.
  • Cincy Grill
  • Blue Ash Cafe

Bearcat Card (BCC) dollar amounts can be added to the student’s ID throughout the year. Bearcat Card dollars may be spent at any on-campus food location (including the Dining Centers) as well as any off-campus location participating in the Bearcat Card program. Bearcat Card funds carry over from one semester to the next, and a refund of any unspent Bearcat Card dollars is available upon request at the end of spring semester or upon leaving UC.

For more information visit the Bearcat Card website.  

Bearcat Card Dollars are available for purchase separately from the All Access Meal Plan. This allows students to have increased flexibility in determining the desired amount of BCD, as opposed to having a fixed amount. In light of this change, we have decreased the expense of the All-Access Meal Plan noting the removal of 150 BCD per semester from the meal plan.

Simply add to your account in person at the MainStreet Connection Center or online at the Bearcat Card website.


Meal Swipes

You can look up your account balance on the Bearcat Card website.

Students can purchase more than one Campus Dining Pass each term. Just keep in mind that unused swipes do not carry over to the next semester.

Unused meal swipes carry over week to week, however they expire at the end of each semester.

Yes. The All-Access meal plan allows you to treat up to 15 guests per semester. Swipes from all Campus Dining Pass plans can be used to treat guests.

Yes! Dining Centers allow students, faculty, staff, parents, and the community to meet and enjoy all-you-care-to-eat dining in one easy location. Dining Centers accept Meal Plans, the Bearcat Card dollars, credit cards, and cash.