Although the saying “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” is one of the most well-known phrases, for many students at Yale, myself included, breakfast is also the most forgotten meal of the day. Fortunately, with Yale’s various meal plans, students are given the freedom to get meals based on their schedules. From the Full mean plan to the Flex and Connect meal plans, students at Yale are given many different options for meal plans.
The Full meal plan is best for students who eat all three meals a day since it allows for 21 meals a week. This meal plan is also required for all first years since it provides first years a chance to familiarize themselves with Yale’s dining experiences.
The meal plan I use and have convinced my friends to use is the Flex meal plan. Although students with the Flex plan only have 14 swipes a day (which is perfect for breakfast skippers), the Flex meal plan also comes with 300 dining points a semester which students can use in different locations across campus. True to its name, the Flex plan offers added flexibility for students who do not wish to have as much structure in their mealtimes.
The third option is the Connect meal plan, which is only available for students living off campus. It offers students who are living off campus the chance to eat in the dining halls while also cooking for themselves off campus.
While the meal plans differ based on the amount of meal swipes students have per week, they all allow students to eat in any of the 14 dining halls at Yale. Not only this, but all students on a meal plan at Yale also have lunch transfers, which means that students can use their lunch swipe in the different dining options available at Yale, such as Commons, The Bow Wow, and Steep Café.
Even though dining hall food can be monotonous over time, I’m forever grateful that Yale’s meal plans allow me to grab meals most convenient for my schedule. The Flex meal plan allows me to get meals in the dining hall with friends daily while also having the flexibility of trying the different food options available at The Elm and The Ivy via my dining points.
