Mac Express Meal Plan & Gift Card Information

Think of your Meal Plan as a two-bucket system:

1. The BASIC Bucket
   • This is the spending portion of your meal plan.
   • Every time you purchase food at a Hospitality Services location, money is deducted from this bucket.
   • It carries forward if unused, but it’s best to use as much as possible in your first year to make the most of your plan.
2. The Overhead Bucket
   • This covers operating costs for dining halls and other food services.
   • You never see or spend directly from this bucket, but with every meal purchase, 50% of the price comes from your BASIC bucket and 50% from this Overhead bucket.
   • Any unused funds in this bucket do not carry forward and are non-refundable.

Maximize Your Meal Plan Value

• Track your spending: Monitor your balance and cross-reference our budget planner below to ensure you’re on pace to use your funds.
• Plan your meals: Take advantage of dining hall offerings and meal variety.
• Use it everyday: The more you use your plan, the more value you get from the included overhead bucket.

1. Residence Meal Plan is an integral component of living in any of the McMaster University residences and all students living in residence must purchase a mandatory meal plan – there are no exemptions.
2. Students living in traditional residence must select one of the Traditional meal plans. Students living in apartment-style residence (Bates and Mary E. Keyes) must select one of either the Traditional, or Apartment-Style meal plans.  If you select an Apartment-Style meal plan and you receive a room in traditional residence, your meal plan will be changed to the corresponding size meal plan from the Traditional meal plan group.
3. Students who do not make a selection will be allocated a ‘C’ level Meal Plan from the applicable mandatory group. Set up of the Residence Meal Plan account is automatically considered an acceptance of all the terms and conditions of the Residence Meal Plan Policy.
4. Once you select and purchase a residence meal plan, there is no cancellation as long as you are still living in any McMaster University residence. You can make changes to your initial Meal Plan Selection through in writing to the Mac Express office at express@mcmaster.ca. The deadline for all meal plan change requests to Mac Express is August 4, 2026.
5. Any student with special dietary needs due to serious illness (ex. Celiac disease, anaphylactic allergies) must contact Hospitality Services for confirmation that his/her needs can be met before making a decision on applying for McMaster Residence. Meal plan exemptions are rare and considered only under exceptional circumstances. Each request is assessed individually, taking into account logistical and capacity constraints as well as the student’s needs. Dietary restrictions/allergies alone do not guarantee exemption; however, accommodations and alternative options can be explored in consultation with our Dietitian. Requests for meal plan exemptions require an accompanying note from a medical physician or religious leader outlining the functional limitations affecting the student’s dietary restrictions, including a detailed list of foods that cannot be consumed.
6. Residence Meal Plans are specifically designed for your personal use only. Residence students are given a tax-exempt status on the Basic portion of the Residence Meal Plan. Under government tax regulations, food purchases made at Hospitality Services campus locations from the Basic portion of the Residence Meal Plan will be considered tax-exempt purchases. Sharing or misuse of your meal plan will be considered fraudulent.
7. To purchase confectionary (e.g. chocolate, chips, candy), non-food items (e.g. books, McMaster clothing, photocopies etc).) or to make purchases at Off-Campus Restaurant Partner locations, you must purchase FLEX funds from the Mac One Card Office. FLEX funds are in addition to your meal plan and are fully refundable at any time.
8. The cost of each Residence Meal Plan includes a $50 fixed, non-refundable administration charge and a non-refundable capital improvement charge that is deducted from the Basic meal account at the beginning of the academic year in the amount of $185 for both Traditional and Apartment-Style meal plans.
9. The Basic meal account consists of an overhead portion to cover the costs of operating the residence dining halls. The non-refundable, non-prorated overhead portion of 50% of your Basic meal account will automatically be set aside at the beginning of the school year; however, with every food purchase made at Hospitality Services locations, 50% of the price will be taken from your Basic account and 50% will be taken from the overhead account in order for you to receive the full value of your meal plan. Any remaining overhead funds are non-refundable and will not carry forward at the end of the Winter term.
10. The Basic funds of the Residence Meal Plans are non-taxable as per the Canada Revenue Agency guidelines. Accordingly, in order to maintain that tax exempt status, the Basic account is mandatory and non-refundable under McMaster University Residence Meal Plan Policy (except on a prorated basis upon withdrawal from residence, subject to a withdrawal fee of $50).  Any unused Basic meal account funds, not including the overhead portion, will be carried forward at the end of the Winter term and will remain non-taxable and will expire at the end of enrollment at McMaster University.
11. You may add funds when the BASIC account is exhausted and you still want to benefit from the non-taxable purchases at the Hospitality Services dining locations on campus. Unused funds that are added on are carried forward at the end of the Winter term or can be refunded upon a written request to the Mac Express Centre.

Two types of meal plans exist. Traditional (Trad) Meal Plans are available to all residences. Apartment (Apt) Meal Plans are only available for apartment-style residences (Bates and Mary E Keyes).

TRADITIONAL MEAL PLANS (Available to All Residence Students)

Since all residence students are required to purchase a mandatory meal plan, students who do not make a selection will be automatically allocated a C meal plan from their mandatory group. Set up of the Residence Meal Plan account is automatically considered an acceptance of all the terms and conditions of the Residence Meal Plan Policy.

Your meal plan fees should be submitted with your tuition fees. Please proceed using these fees. All fees are subject to change. Meal Plan fee charges will be applied to your Student Account.