Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ to answer the most common questions First Year students and their parents have about campus dining.

You get unlimited access to the dining hall during service hours for the meal plan holder only. This means that you can not swipe in your friends or other students. You also get 14 meals per week to use in our retail dining locations. These meals per week in those locations reset Monday morning and can be used through Thursday evening.

The all-access plan has 200 flex points attached to it. These flex points can be used in retail locations to purchase a coffee or a snack instead of using an entire swipe if you are not getting a full meal. They are also used to cover any upcharges when you purchase a meal that is considered a dip deal. A dip deal in our retail locations includes one entree, one side, and one fountain drink. Flex points are used if you add an addition side, additional toppings to an entree, or upgrade your drink.

Dip Deal If you see this icon on our retail menus beside a menu item, that means this is an item that can be purchased for a dip deal.

Gluten-Friendly Icon If you see this icon on our retail menus beside a menu item, it means that this item can be made gluten-friendly upon request.

Campus dining features our main dining hall, also referred to as the Restaurants at Ben Franklin (RBF). In the dining hall, students have the option of ten different dining stations:

Simple Servings: Offers meal options for free of 90% of all food-allergy reactions as well as gluten-free options for those with a medical need to avoid gluten. All foods offered at the Simple Serving station are naturally free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, and gluten.
KIVO: Our kosher dining option on campus focuses on offering a variety of international, vegan, and organic dishes to our students. KIVO is both Halal-certified and K-Star certified.
Trellis at KIVO: Our plant-forward station where our chefs, who are Humane Society of the United States trained, create menus to satisfy those looking for plant-based meal options.
World Affairs: Our Mongolian grill features various specials. Besides the Mongolian grill at World Affairs is our salad bar with ready-made salads.
Kite & Key Hometown & Deli: Features homecooked favorites, create your own sandwiches, and a new Turbo Charge oven for hot sandwiches. Located at the same location as Restaurante Verde.
Restaurante Verde: Features pizza, grinders, stromboli, create your own pasta bowls, and pasta specials.

The campus has a total of 3 separate retail locations on campus:

Eateries at CC: The Eateries at CC is located at Steinman College Center (SCC) where there are three dining stations: Grill Off the Green, Mein Bowl, and Handcrafted. Steinman is located off of Hartman Green.
Flavors at LS&P: Located in the Barshinger Life Sciences & Philosophy Building's Atrium, Flavors at LS&P features brewed coffee, breakfast sandwiches, Vitality flavored water, flatbread & baguette sandwiches, gourmet salads and desserts.
The Diplomatic Cafe: The Diplomatic Cafe is our coffee house and is located at Distler House right next to the Campus Bookstore

Your meal plan is directly attached to your F&M student ID. The All-Access Plan grants you full access to the Restaurants at Ben Franklin (Dining Hall) during normal operation hours. Fourteen (14) meal exchange are available for use each week (Friday-Thursday) in our retail locations.

A student living off-campus who chooses to purchase the 100 Meal Block Plan or 75 Meal Block Plan has 100 or 75 meal swipes for the entire semester to use at RBF, while having up to 10 meal swipes per week (Friday-Thursday) to use at SCC, Flavors, or Blue Line. This means a single swipe will get you into RBF once per meal period. A single swipe will get you a single meal/Dip Deal at SCC, Flavors, and Blue Line. Each plan also includes a certain amount of flex points: 230 for the 100 Block plan and 320 for the 75 Block plan.

You or your student also have the option of purchasing Ben's Bucks, which can be used at a few selection off-campus locations in addition to our retail locations. We do not encourage using Flex points or Ben's Bucks to enter the dining hall.

Registration Instructions

Go to the website at: https://fandm.campuscardcenter.com/ch/login.html

Cardholder Registration Page: 

https://fandm.campuscardcenter.com/ch/login.html

Click “Register Now”

  1. ID Number - Enter your student or faculty ID number.
  2. Last Name - Enter your last name. 

Create User Profile Page:  Complete the form as follows:

  1. Create your username – A valid username is one word without spaces or special characters.
  2. Create your password – A valid password is at least 5 characters without spaces or special characters.
  3. Re-enter your password to confirm.
  4. Select a secret question from the drop-down list and provide your answer.
  5. Enter your email address.

Cardholder Terms & Conditions Page -- Upon review:

  1. Click “Yes”
  2. Enter Initials
  3. Click “Accept Terms"   

Registration & Card Activation Successful Confirmation Page:
Congratulations, you have successfully registered your account.  To access your account, click on "Click Here" to return to the login page and enter the username and password you just established.

Once you have Registered Login to:

·  Check balances on all meal plan and declining balance accounts

·  View your Transactions History

·  Reset your password

·  Set up an Everyday App Account 

Learn more about F&M Ben’s Bucks at https://www.fandmbensbucks.com/

Each meal plan has flex points included with their plan, regardless of an all-access plan, block plan, or a meals per week plan. Flex points are considered additional money to be used in addition to meal swipes as needed, or in place of when making smaller purchases. 
 
An example of a good use of flex points is purchasing a coffee or a snack at our retail locations instead of using an entire meal swipe for a single item. Flex points are also used when upgrading or adding an item to a dip deal purchase at retail locations.
 
Dip deals are often a meal with a drink combo that a student can purchase for a single meal swipe. If the student wishes to upgrade their drink (ie. a milkshake instead of a soda) or a student wishes to get an additional side/add a side not included in the dip deal and the difference in cost will be covered by the student's flex points. 
 
Leftover flex points at the end of the fall semester will roll over to the spring semester for use. Leftover flex points at the end of the spring semester do not roll over to the new fall semester. 

Ben’s Bucks are not the same as Flex Dollars, and are unrelated to your meal plan. Ben’s Bucks is a prepaid spending account on your Franklin & Marshall ID Card offering a safe and convenient way to make purchases on and off campus, including all on-campus eateries. You or your parents must make a deposit to Ben’s Bucks prior to using it for purchases.  You can also set up an Auto Reload schedule so you never run out of Ben’s Bucks.  

Value in Ben’s Bucks rolls over from semester-to-semester and year-to-year for as long as you are a member of the Franklin & Marshall community.  For a complete list of Ben’s Bucks accepting locations, click here. For more information regarding Ben's Bucks or to register, click here.

DipDeals are menu items in our retail locations that are grouped together (i.e. combo meals, meal deals) that are purchased for JUST ONE SWIPE of your meal plan. 

We're sorry that you/your student are not feeling well! If you/your student is ill, we encourage you/your student to stay in and rest rather than coming into our dining facilities.  This will help prevent the spread of illnesses.  We are happy to provide you with a sick meal* which you can charge to your dining account, and have a friend pick up for you.
 
A basic sick meal consists of a beverage, as well as a choice of light breakfast or lunch options. You may make individual requests for different meal periods if necessary.
 
Submit your request here, filling out all the required information. Please indicate which friend will pick up for you and at what time. 

Many current students have dietary restrictions. KIVO (Kosher, International, Vegan, Organic) is a Star K certified kosher and Halal-certified dining facility. Simple Servings offers meal options for our guests that require allergen-free options. Our chefs meticulously prepare the food for Simple Servings using allergen free recipes and prep tools to ensure a safe and healthy experience for our guests located in the Restaurants at Ben Franklin (dining hall). Our Restaurants at Ben Franklin does not offer nuts or peanuts. Every dining location on campus offers vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options all denoted with special icons on our menus. It is also helpful to note that our menus are posted for each week under the "Dining Near Me" tabs right next to the individual locations on our website. Students can also access our menus complete with ingredients, allergy content and nutritional content by using the Bite app, which you can sign up for here. If you wish to speak to a manager further regarding your student's dietary needs, please contact us at (717) 358-7165 to schedule an appointment or speak with our Registered Dietitian, Susan Hurd, directly through email. For more information about special dietary accommodations or to fill out a Student Dining Accommodation Request Form please visit the Franklin and Marshall College Office of Student Accessibility Services Homepage.

No, you can not. The meal plans do not have guest swipes and you are not allowed to use your meal plan swipes for classmates or friends. They are welcome to purchase meal plans of their own or pay the community price for a lunch in the dining hall with cash or a debit/credit card.

If your meals are not used by the end of the semester, they simply go unused. They do not roll over to the Spring semester. Your Flex points, however, will roll over to Spring 2024. Flex points do NOT roll over from Spring to Fall. If they are not used by the end of the Spring semester, they simply go unused.

First Year Meal Plans

Learn all about the meal plans that First-Year Students are required to have depending on if they live on-campus or off-campus.
All Access Plan with 200 Flex Points
-- First years are required to purchase this meal plan, unless they are commuting students. Please contact the College House Administration to determine if you are classified as a commuter student.
-- 14 meal exchange for use in retail locations available per week (Friday-Thursday)
-- Grants full access to the Restaurants at Ben Franklin (Dining Hall) during normal operating hours
-- Even if you are a commuting student, you are available to purchase a meal plan. Please contact the Housing Office to arrange.
We firmly believe that food brings people together. 
 
The team of F&M Dining works hard each day and is committed to providing the best dining experience to the Franklin & Marshall community. We are committed to consistently bringing fresh, delicious, local, sustainable, and nutritious food to each of our locations on campus.
 
Our dining program is specifically designed to ensure that you never go hungry during your time at F&M. Our chefs develop menus that include home-style favorites, plant-based, and kosher options, as well as accommodating those with specific dietary needs.
 
Sue Hurd, our Registered Dietitian, visits our campus at least twice per month as a resource for students to discuss and achieve their personal dietary goals or guidance with special dietary needs. Sue works closely with the Office of Student Accessibility Services and our professional chefs to ensure that all students' special dietary needs are met.
 
Others services and features include a “Gifts from Home” program, themed dinners throughout the year, chefs visiting from across the globe, culinary competitions, and a student hot wing eating contest.
 
Welcome to Franklin & Marshall College! We look forward to getting to know you as you visit us in the dining hall while you are in attendance.