value plus

For students living Off Campus or in Mackenzie King Village, UW Place, Columbia Lake Village or Minota Hagey Residence

Want to make your cake and eat it too? Itching for some chicken teriyaki or vegetarian curried madras simmer – but there’s no time to make it yourself? Or maybe you want to start the day off right with a healthy breakfast on the go. At Waterloo, we make it incredibly easy for students living off campus or in a suite-style residence such as Mackenzie King Village, UW Place, Columbia Lake Village or Minota Hagey Residence to eat what they want, when they want.

What’s in it for me?

In fact, we aim to make selecting a meal plan as easy as finding a great place to eat on campus, especially for students away from home for the first time. We know this is an exciting, and overwhelming, time, but with UW Food Services whipping up tons of exciting, nourishing lunches, dinners, snacks and even desserts at locations scattered all over our campus, our students are able to study hard and stay healthy without spending hours shopping for groceries or on meal prep.

And did we mention the cost saving? Value Plus Meal Plans (VPMP) are a deal. Depending on the VPMP you buy, you’ll get a discount of 5% to 18% off most food purchases at a UW Food Services location. Remember: You can buy a meal plan at any time during the term, but the earlier you purchase one, the sooner you save!

What plan should I buy?

Click here for 2012/2013 Meal Plan Fees

2011 – 2012 Fees

meal plan
WHAT IT’S CALLED	WHAT DO YOU PAY?	MEAL PLAN PORTION	FLEX DOLLAR PORTION	MEAL PLAN DISCOUNT PER TERM*
VPMP Best Buy	$1,550	$925	$625	18% off most items
VPMP Basic Plus	$1,250	$725	$525	10% off most items
VPMP Basic	$750	$450	$300	5% off most items
WHAT’S THE SCOOP?
The Best Buy plan is our most popular plan by far – and for good reason. It gives students the ultimate in flexibility and convenience and an 18% discount. Choose this meal plan if you’ll be snacking, eating meals and noshing your way through the semester every day on campus! (Or just can’t get enough of our amazing, nutritious food!) Where does the 18% discount come from? 5% comes from UW Food Services, 13% comes from Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). The Basic Plus plan is the best bet for students who plan on cooking some meals, but would like to eat or snack on campus regularly. Use your flex dollars to visit an off campus fast food outlet when you get that late night craving. The 10% discount is from UW Food Services. The Basic plan would be good if you plan on cooking most of your own meals, but still want to snack and eat some meals on campus. The $425 VMPA buys about 50 to 70 meals. The 5% discount is from UW Food Services. The Small Print Some junk food, bulk items and non-food items may still require paying HST. Flex Dollars are not tax discountable or HST exempt.

How much should I add to the “Flexible Account?: To figure out what flexible balance is right for you, check out the WatCard website at www.watcard.uwaterloo.ca.

When I run out of money in my account, can I add to my balance?: Yes! Add Flex Dollars to your WatCard at any UW Food Services location, Graphics Copy Centre, the Turnkey Desk, and at the WatCard office. For added convenience, both the Graphics Copy Centres and the WatCard office accept Visa, MasterCard, and Debit Card for deposits of $5.00 or greater. Any additional money added to your account will be Flex Dollars. You can even add money through the WatCard website using Visa, MasterCard or American Express credit cards 24 hours a day.

The Small Print

Federal and Provincial tax legislation prohibits the use of tax-exempt meal plan funds by individuals who are not qualified to receive these benefits. Only the WatCard holder may purchase meals. WatCard holders purchasing more than one meal at a time will be charged appropriate taxes on the meal with the lower value. All applicable discounts will be applied before taxes. Each transaction the cashier will examine the photo on the WatCard to ensure that the person making the purchase is the WatCard holder. In all cases where the cashier suspects that somebody is using a WatCard other than the cardholder, the cashier must keep the card and prevent its use. The WatCard will be forwarded to the WatCard Office within four hours where it can be picked up by the proper cardholder at that time, or the next business day. Fraudulent use of WatCard funds to purchase food for other people may result in loss of all discount and tax exemption privileges. The security of a WatCard remains the cardholder’s responsibility. WatCards should be treated like a credit or debit card. If a WatCard is lost or stolen the cardholder is responsible for all charges made to that card until the card is reported lost or stolen. A WatCard can be reported lost or stolen at any WatCard cash register on campus, at the WatCard Office, or online at the WatCard homepage. All WatCards are the property of the University of Waterloo.