The 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.

Residence meal plans are specifically designed for your personal use. When living in a traditional residence, you must purchase a meal plan from the Traditional meal plans. Students living in Bates and the Mary E. Keyes Residence must purchase a meal plan from either Traditional or Apartment-Style meal plans – see Residence Meal Plan Details for meal plan specifics.

If you select an Apartment-Style meal plan and receive a room in traditional residence, your meal plan will be changed to the corresponding size meal plan from the Traditional meal plan group. 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’ level meal plan from their mandatory group. Set up of the Residence Meal Plan account is considered an acceptance of all the terms and conditions of the Residence Meal Plan Policy.

The BASIC portion of the Residence Meal Plan is non-taxable, saving you the sales tax (up to 13%) on your food purchases on campus.  As it is a non-taxable plan, the BASIC account is mandatory and non-refundable under McMaster University Residence Meal Plan Policy and Canada Revenue Agency tax regulations (except on a prorated basis upon withdrawal from residence, subject to a withdrawal fee of $50). Any unspent BASIC meal account funds, not including the pre-paid overhead, will be carried forward at the end of the Winter term with 100% of the purchase price coming from the Basic account. These carry-forward funds remain non-taxable and will expire at the end of enrollment at McMaster University.

A FLEX account is available, which is an optional and refundable portion of the Residence Meal Plan and it is initially set at $0 value. You may add funds when the BASIC account is exhausted and you still want to benefit from the non-taxable food purchases at the Hospitality Services dining locations on campus.

The RETAIL OPERATIONS account is a fully taxable and fully refundable portion of your meal plan and it can be used to purchase confectionery (eg. chocolate bars, candy) and non-food items (eg. personal grooming products, convenience items) at Hospitality Services facilities or to dine at participating Off-Campus Vendor locations.

Any time prior to the end of the Winter term, you may add monies to your FLEX account (if BASIC is exhausted) and/or your RETAIL OPERATIONS account, as well as transfer monies between the two accounts. All purchases made from the RETAIL OPERATIONS account will be subject to the appropriate taxes. Unused funds in the FLEX and RETAIL OPERATIONS accounts are carried forward at the end of the Winter term or can be refunded upon a written request to the Mac Express Centre.

You can make changes to your initial Meal Plan Selection through the Housing Application Portal. After their stated deadline date, any meal plan change requests should be submitted in writing to the Mac Express Centre at express@mcmaster.ca. The deadline for all meal plan change requests to Mac Express is August 8, 2023.

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 be automatically 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.

Information regarding fee payments and arrangements will be included in your registration package. Fee payments or payment arrangements for your Residence Meal Plan should be made to/with Student Accounts and Cashiers.

Terms and Conditions

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.
5. Any student with special dietary needs due to serious illness (e.g. Celiac disease, anaphylactic allergies) or religious restrictions must contact Hospitality Services for confirmation that his/her needs can be met before making a decision on applying for McMaster Residence.
6. Residence Meal Plans are specifically designed for your personal use only. Residence students are given a tax-exempt status on their Basic and Flex portions of the Residence Meal Plan. Under government tax regulations, food purchases made at Hospitality Services campus locations from the Basic and/or Flex portion of the Residence Meal Plan will be considered tax-exempt purchases.
7. To purchase confectionary (e.g. chocolate bars, candy) and non-food items (e.g. personal grooming items, convenience items etc.) or to make purchases at Off-Campus Vendors you need to utilize your Retail Operations account. All meal plans come with a refundable set amount in your Retail Operations account.
8. All purchases from the Retail Operations account will be subject to the appropriate taxes.
9. You can add monies to your Retail Operations account any time during the Fall and Winter terms upon a written request to the Mac Express Centre. Retail Operations monies are fully refundable or may be carried over to the next year.
10. The cost of each Residence Meal Plan includes a $50 fixed, non-refundable administration charge.
11. A non-refundable capital improvement charge is deducted from the Basic meal account at the beginning of the academic year in the amount of $175 for both Traditional and Apartment-Style meal plans.
12. 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.
13. Basic funds of the Residence Meal Plans are non-taxable, under the condition that a minimum number of meals is provided 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 with 100% of the purchase price coming from the Basic account.  Carried-over funds remain non-taxable and will expire at the end of enrollment at McMaster University.
14. Any student found guilty of fraudulent use of a Mac Express account, removal of any product from food facilities without payment, consumption of food prior to payment, will be issued a $25 misuse fine.

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)

APARTMENT MEAL PLANS (Available to Bates and Mary E. Keyes Residence Students Only)

Note: Monies can be transferred between FLEX and RETAIL OPERATIONS accounts upon written request to Mac Express Office (Commons Building 115).

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.

• The A plan is best for students with a lighter appetite who are not usually on campus during weekends.
• The B plan is best for students with a lighter appetite who are occasionally on campus during weekends.
• The C plan is our most popular plan. It is best for students with an average appetite who tend to stay on campus most weekends
• The D plan is best for students with a hearty appetite who tend to stay on campus most weekends.

The BASIC account represents the mandatory and non-refundable portion of all residence meal plans. It is a non-taxable account saving you up to 13% and can be used for food purchases on campus only. The FLEX account is an optional account that allows you to continue non-taxable purchases of food on campus once the Basic account is exhausted. The RETAIL OPERATIONS account gives you ability to purchase confectionery and non-food items on campus at Hospitality Services locations and to dine at the participating Off-Campus vendors. All purchases made from the RETAIL OPERATIONS account will be subject to the appropriate taxes. At any time during the academic year, you can deposit into the FLEX and/or RETAIL OPERATIONS account or transfer monies between your FLEX and RETAIL OPERATIONS accounts. Unused funds in the FLEX and RETAIL OPERATIONS accounts will be automatically carried over to the next term or can be refunded to you, so there’s no risk involved!

No matter which residence meal plan you select, the BASIC portion of your plan is non-refundable except on a prorated basis upon withdrawal from residence, subject to the charges specified in the Residence Meal Plan Policy. Any unused BASIC funds, not including prepaid overhead, will be carried forward to the next year. Carried over funds remain non-taxable and will expire at the end of enrollment at McMaster University. Only the unused portion of your FLEX and/or RETAIL OPERATIONS account is fully refundable upon withdrawal. The unused portion of your FLEX and/or RETAIL OPERATIONS account will remain in your account for future purchases or can be refunded upon written request to Mac Express.

Every time you make a purchase, you can see the total amount of all your meal plan accounts on the customer display. Better yet, use our secure Internet access to your meal plan information at the OneCard Account website. Once there, you are able to check your meal plan balance and review your transaction history. The web access also allows you to deactivate your meal card as soon as you notice it missing.

There are two meal plan groups, Traditional (Trad) and Apartment (Apt), and within these groups there are four meal plan sizes A, B, C, D. Any student living in a traditional residence must choose a meal plan from Trad. Students living in Bates or Mary E. Keyes Residence must choose a meal plan from either Trad or Apt. Refer to the Residence Meal Plan Details for clarification. You may add extra monies to your FLEX and/or RETAIL OPERATIONS account at any time.

Students with special dietary needs due to health or religious restrictions must contact Hospitality Services for written confirmation that their needs can be met within the residence meal plan before making a decision to apply for residence, as the meal plan is mandatory for all students living in McMaster University residences. Visit the dietary restrictions page for detailed information regarding our additional services.

Feedback and comments are always welcome through our website and MacEats app. We also encourage you to use our “Questions/Answers” comment sheets found in our dining locations. Simply pin your question to the info board and your answer will appear within 48 hours!

McMaster University does not at this time accept payment through mobile applications for the payment of tuition, deposit to meal cards or other fees. Any company or organization that offers the opportunity to pay by mobile application is not associated with McMaster University.

If you choose to use such a service, you should be aware that:

• You will remain responsible for all costs or fees should for any reason the fee payment not be processed;
• You may be required to pay a fee to the company over and above McMaster University’s fees;
• You will be required to provide personal information, including your student number, to the company.

McMaster University does not encourage the use of third party mobile application payment services.

Yes, this can be done through the Authorized User Deposit option on the OneCard Account website. They will need to know your student ID number and first name.

This only applies to the old Meal Account Website for access to historical transaction data. The new OneCard Account Website uses MacID authentication.

Creating your password as a first-time user or resetting a forgotten password follows the same procedure. Watch the video or follow the instructions below to familiarize yourself with the process:

First, visit the Meal Account website.

Select ACCOUNT SETTINGS, then RESET PASSWORD. Enter your account number (9-digit ID number – Student ID for students, Employee ID for faculty & staff) and click Submit.

Reset Password Enter Account Screen Capture:

Reset your password by entering the verification code sent to your email, along with the new password which needs to be entered twice. Then click on Reset Password.

Reset Password Enter New Password Screen Capture:

The email with your one-time verification code will be sent to what we have on record as your “primary email address”. This may or may not be your McMaster email account.

If you have any problems changing or resetting your password, you will need to contact the Mac Express Office for further assistance.