Skip to main content

Cornell University

Cornell Dining

Guide to Cornell Dining

The Cornell Dining team has assembled some information to help you navigate a dining program of which we're extremely proud!

What's open when? Ask Cornell Dining Now! 

Bookmark Cornell Dining Now at now.dining.cornell.edu to see what's open when near you, based on your location. Skim menus at each eatery, and see announcements about events.

Meals served fall semester 2024 begin with lunch on Monday, August 19, 2023 and end with brunch on Sunday, December 22, 2024. Meals served spring semester 2024 begin with lunch on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 and end with dinner on Friday, May 23, 2025. The meal plan program does not cover Cornell’s recess for winter intersession. Big Red Bucks (BRBs) can be used during these recess periods. 

What are meal swipes? What are BRBs? 

Cornell Dining's Traditional Meal Plans and West Campus House Meal Plans all include both meal swipes that can be used to enter our residential dining rooms, and Big Red Bucks (BRBs), our declining debit account. You can use BRBs to buy meals for yourself (not others) at any of our dining rooms (when you're out of meal swipes), snacks or meals or drinks at any of our retail cafes, snacks or drinks from vending machines that take BRBs, or food or drinks at our convenience stores. Where online ordering is available via GET, you can pay for your online order with BRBs!

BRBs have an advantage over paying with a credit card or Cornell Card: your purchases with BRBs are exempt from sales tax! You can add to your BRBs balance at any time or ask a friend or family member to, at get.cbord.com/cornell or with the GET Mobile app, available for iOS and Android.

Please note: All students living in on-campus housing are required to have a meal plan. First-year and transfer students will be automatically enrolled in the Unlimited meal plan. Transfer students may be offered the opportunity to reduce to the Bear Traditional. Residents of the West Campus House System are required to have a meal plan and will be automatically enrolled in the West Campus unlimited meal plan.

Mobile ordering

Several of our cafés and our grills are available on GET Order, our mobile ordering service, to speed up your visits to our eateries. Order in advance to reduce your contact and interaction with staff at our cafés, and be more efficient with your time. You can place your order hours ahead if you're sure of your schedule, or simply before walking over. Just skip the line and grab your meal from the pickup station. 

If you don't have a smartphone, just use a web browser on any computer or mobile device to place your order before heading to the eatery to pick it up. There is no fee for using GET Order to place your order.

Contactless payment

Most of Cornell Dining's eateries are cashless for safety and sanitation! We're using contactless payment methods, and instead of handing your Cornell ID card to a door-checker or cashier in our eateries, you'll use the GET My Card feature of the GET app to show a unique bar code representing your Cornell ID for both meal swipes and BRBs. We also have self-serve payment terminals for credit and debit cards, supporting Apple Pay and Google Wallet as well as chip cards.  

Sustainability in Cornell Dining

Help us reduce the use of disposable cups that wind up in the landfill with our new Beverage Rewards Program! Grab your favorite clean cup, mug or tumbler and save 15% on all self-serve hot or iced coffee, tea, and fountain beverages. Just ask the cashier for a punch card and you'll earn a punch with purchase of any of these drinks in your reusable beverage container. Fill up your punch card to earn a reward drink.

Meanwhile, each year, millions of disposable paper and styrofoam containers end up in landfills after just one use. As part of Cornell Dining's Sustainability Action Plan, we're taking steps to reduce the use of single-use disposable containers. Guests who'd like to take their meals to go at nine of our eateries have the option to use a reusable takeout container in partnership with Fill It Forward. When you bring it back rinsed on your next visit, you can swap it for a freshly washed and sanitized reusable container for your next meal.

Need reusable utensils? We've got those, too! Available to purchase at our cafes. Once you have the reusable utensils, they're just plain yours. Wash them after use, and bring them with you to use at every meal.

Or grab lunch on the move!

Cornell Dining is excited to pilot the new Meals on the Move program during the Fall 2024 semester. Meals on the Move was designed to add convenience for our meal plan holders, increase variety available, and reduce wait times during peak lunch periods on Central Campus. Students will be able to pick up a lunch from Crossings Café on North Campus or Rose House Dining Room on West Campus in the morning and enjoy it at a time conducive to their schedule. Stay tuned for a launch announcement.

Nutrition and Special Diets 

Cornell Dining offers detailed nutrition information online for several of our cafes. You can check allergens, look for vegetarian or vegan options, view the nutrition info for a single item, or build a meal and see the totals.

We also take food allergies and other dietary restrictions very seriously. Cornell Dining's culinary team and management are trained yearly with the AllerTrain food allergy training to increase awareness of ingredient labeling, cross-contamination, and other concerns.

Jobs with Cornell Dining

We provide students with meaningful work opportunities and leadership positions! Whether you want to work in one of our residential dining locations or our coffee shops or cafés, whether you want to hone your culinary skills by working closely with a chef, we have a position for you. If you're looking to take on more of a leadership role, we have supervisor and student manager positions that can fit. Cornell Dining hires many full-time and part-time staff members for a wide range of positions and roles on campus, as well as a robust student staff team.

Are you following us online? 

Following us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook is the best way to learn about updates and any future events.