There are four different meal plans that USC offers — Cardinal, Trojan, Flex 120 and Community — with students living in on-campus housing being required to choose one. 

In the last few years, the University has adjusted and raised prices on meal plans while keeping the Cardinal and Flex 120 plans mandatory for freshmen and upperclassmen living in on-campus housing, respectively. The Trojan, Flex 120 and Community meal plans as well as dining dollar blocks are also available throughout the semester to purchase if a student feels the need to make an adjustment. 

This article will explain what each meal plan offers, a breakdown of the cost per meal for plans with swipes and interviews with students who have used each meal plan for at least a semester. 

Automatically enrolled meal plans

First-year students living on campus are automatically enrolled in the Cardinal meal plan, offering unlimited meal swipes at all three dining halls in addition to two swipes a week at Tutor Campus Center. Meal swipes are available at Trojan Grounds and most TCC restaurants, barring Panda Express and poke bowls at Seeds Marketplace.

The Cardinal Plan also includes seven guest swipes a semester, allowing students to share meals with visiting friends, family or peers who do not have meal swipes.

The meal plan costs $4,014; and with around 120 days in a semester including welcome week and finals, for a student who has three meals a day, seven days a week, it comes out to around $11.15 a meal.

Sophomores, juniors and seniors living in USC housing are automatically assigned to the Flex 120 meal plan, a newly added option that replaced the previous Apartment Plan. Flex 120 includes 120 meal swipes that can be used at all dining halls and at the same on-campus options as the Cardinal Plan. It also includes the same seven guest swipes, as well as 150 dining dollars to use at TCC and other select on-campus restaurants.

Prices for a meal from TCC are anywhere between $9.99 to close to $20, allowing students to eat up to 10 meals from TCC in a semester.

The Flex 120 plan costs $1,975, and with around 120 days in a semester including welcome week and finals, if dividing their swipes evenly, a student can use roughly one meal swipe a day.

Although undergraduate students living on campus are required to have a meal plan, Yulian Amador, a sophomore majoring in international relations and global economy, said she would likely have gotten the Flex 120 plan even if not required.

She said the plan allows her to have a guaranteed meal each day on campus, so she is “not struggling.”

However, another second-year architecture student, Matt Brow, said the fact that undergraduates who have kitchens are required to enroll in a meal plan is “pretty ridiculous.”

Trojan meal plan

While undergraduates living on campus are automatically enrolled in either the Cardinal or Flex 120 plans, students who are looking for more variety can upgrade to the Trojan meal plan. This plan consists solely of dining dollars, costing $4,605 in exchange for 4,605 dining dollars for the semester.

Breaking the meal plan up for a student who uses the plan for three meals every day of the week, it comes to $12.80 a meal. However, this meal plan offers more alternatives, with students being able to use it at all on-campus dining options, including cafes like the newly-added Sharetea.

The plan could benefit students with food allergies or dietary restrictions, providing more options than residential dining halls. Only Parkside Dining Hall has an allergen awareness zone.

Dining Dollar meal plans

Those who live off campus but are still interested in dining on campus can opt into a Community meal plan. The University offers the Community 25 option, which includes 25 residential meal swipes and 50 dining dollars for $475, and the Community 50 option, which costs $910 and includes 50 residential meal swipes and 100 dining dollars. The plans allow for anywhere from five to 10 meals per semester at TCC.

Raina Ginsburg, a sophomore majoring in legal studies, lives off campus but chose to have the Community 50 meal plan.

“I live in my sorority, and they don’t provide food on the weekend, so that’s why I need dining dollars. Also, sometimes, I’m not able to make it to lunch, so the dining dollar is good for lunchtime,” she said.

Students can buy a block of dining dollars, either $250 or $500, any time throughout the semester. Dining dollars do not roll over at the end of the semester.