Tag: University Dining

courtesy of University Dining

Fact: First year students that are living on campus are required to have a meal plan.

When I first heard this as an incoming student I was terrified. My mind was flooded with thoughts about all the terrible cafeteria food I witnessed on TV shows and movies about college life. Unfortunately, dining during orientation didn’t do much to relieve my fears. However, when I officially arrived for the beginning of freshman year I learned about all of the possibilities my meal plan had to offer. Even though nothing is as good as home cooking, all of the dining options NC State has to offer can make you forget you’re eating on a college campus.

The Dining Halls

NC State has 3 “traditional” dining halls: Fountain, Clark and Case.  Depending on campus location, students usually choose one to dine at regularly. (Case is only available to limited portion of the student population.) The first great thing about the dining halls is that you can check what’s on the menu for each dining hall for up to a week! This is a great way to plan your meals, especially if you have a favorite meal coming up. (The pasta bar is my personal favorite.) My overall favorite part about eating at the dining halls is attending a specialty event. The dining halls serve specialty meals for Halloween, Thanksgiving, the Winter Holidays, Valentine’s Day, and more. The Winter Feast has such a great reputation that even professors show up to enjoy a plate!

Students at Winter Feast 2011 courtesy of University Dining

Meal Equivalences

As a College of Textile student I learned very quickly I had to be creative with my meal plans. Students also on Centennial Campus at the College of Engineering can enjoy the new Innovation Café. However, Textile students have a more unique situation. With the presence of Port City Java and the Shuttle Inn Café (C-Store), textile students are able get food using their meal plans. This is all possible with meal equivalences. Meal equivalences are set dollar amounts that a student has available during each meal period to use at any of the alternative eateries on campus. Most students use these when eating at the Atrium. The danger of this amazing option is going over the dollar limit. If you go over and have Board Bucks (additional money used for dining that is usually part of your meal plan) they will compensate for the overage. During my freshman year I relied heavily on the Board Bucks to compensate and used them all by mid-semester. Oops! Thankfully, you (or your parents) can add more Board Bucks at anytime, but it’s best to not abuse them. When the end of the semester rolls around you’ll be glad you still have Board Bucks to go to the C-Store, Hill of Beans or other alternative places on campus for more studying fuel.

Innovation Café courtesy of University Dining

Meals-Per-Week Plans

My final tip for students with a meal plan is to use all of the meals! If you choose to have a certain number (8, 10, 12 or 14) of meals a week, remember to use them all. Unlike Board Bucks, meals under those plans do not roll over from week to week. During my first semester I was guilty of not using all of my meals during a week, and not keeping up with the meal periods. Unfortunately, this resulted in wasted meals. As a college student you’ll learn to never pass up a meal, especially when it’s already paid for! Instead of wasting meals, a lot of students find a place on campus to just pick up food and eat later. The dining halls even have a take-out option for students on the go.

View the full list of On Campus Dining Locations

Have questions? Check out University Dining’s FAQ

Explore the official University Dining website

Images courtesy of NC State University Dining

Have a sweet tooth? I know I do! I love anything sweet and NC State offers one of the sweetest things in the state: Howling Cow Ice Cream. The ice cream, which comes from dairy products made by NC State’s very own dairy cows, is a creamy and delicious blend of expertly combined flavors that will leave your taste buds begging for more!

For more than fifty years, The Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Science’s Feldmier Dairy Processing Lab in Schaub Hall has been churning out delicious flavors, ranging from the every-day vanilla to the mouth-watering Campfire Delight.

Some of the flavors available at the Creamery

One of the more dynamic flavors of Howling Cow ice cream is The Chancellor’s Choice. Every time that the chancellor of the University changes, the experts at Howling Cow put together a brand-new flavor that incorporates all of the chancellor’s favorite flavors. Out current chancellor’s choice is WolfTracks, a vanilla ice cream with a fudge ribbon sprinkled with mini-peanut butter cups. “The Chancellor’s favorite flavor is Moose Tracks. We did some research and made a flavor as close to the original as possible,” said Carl Hollifield, head of Dairy Sales at Howling Cow.

A number of NC State flavors have become inevitable extinct.  Our inside sources tell us that after a long and successful run, CoCoNutt has been discontinued. The final gallon tubs were made right before the Christmas holidays, so be sure to take your last tastes of the flavor before it’s gone forever!

One of the last scoops of CoCoNutt Ice Cream. Get it while it lasts!

One of the advantages of being an NC State student with a meal plan is that the Creamery is covered under it! Along with ice cream, The Creamery serves WolfPack To Go meals, brownies, cookies, and much more. It’s the perfect pick-me-up on those long nights of studying in the library.

Delicious treats available at the Creamery!

Howling Cow Ice Cream can be found all across campus. From the C-Stores in the residence halls to the Creamery in DH Hill Library, Howling Cow distributes ice cream in convenient cups, gallon tubs, and even in sundaes and award-winning milkshakes! Currently, treats such as milkshakes and sundaes are only available in select location, but a new ice cream parlor is in the makes. “We want to expand and make our ice cream available to as many people as possible,” said Hollifield. Currently, the Creamery has a walk-up window accessible from Hillsborough Street even though it is located inside the library. By opening up the proposed Ice Cream parlor on Western Blvd., the delicious products will be available to the public on a bigger scale. The new parlor would also serve as a training center for the Food Science department.

A rendition of the new Creamery Cafe and Training Center. Source: Howling Cow Website

Whether you’re in the mood for something simple like strawberry or something adventurous like chocolate peanut butter swirl, Howling Cow has a flavor for you. The sinfully delicious treat is not only the pride and joy of NC State’s Food Processing Department but also a student favorite. Be sure to drop by one of their on-campus locations for a delectable treat that you will never forget!

For more information and sales, please visit http://ncsu.edu/foodscience/dairy/howlingcow.