Food Services are contracted and managed by Flik, a member of the Compass Group.

Dining Facilities

Bates Dining Room is used for lunch and dinner five days a week, and for brunch and dinner on Saturdays and Sundays. All food is served on an unlimited basis. Pay-as-you-go options are available at the door. Bates Dining Room is a smoke-free space.

The Health Food Bar, serving a menu focused on organic produce from local vendors, is open from noon to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 7:45 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Friday, the Health Food Bar has the same lunch hours, but closes for dinner at 6:30 p.m. Most foods are purchased from health food sources and are prepared on an individual basis with special emphasis given to the needs of vegans and vegetarians. Food is sold on a cash basis, and meal plans are accepted up to the monetary value of the meal plan for that meal period. The Siegel Center (which is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.,Monday through Thursday; 7:30 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Friday; 9 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Saturday; and 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Sunday) is a center for socializing and short-order food items. Food is sold on a cash basis, and meal plans are accepted for all purchases up to the value of the meal plan. Between 4:30 and 5 p.m., all Siegel Center services close. From midnight until 2 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, and from 3 to 4 a.m., Friday and Saturday, only beverages and packaged snacks are sold. The Atrium Café, a state-of-the-art cappuccino and espresso bar, is located in the Heimbold Visual Arts Center lobby and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Meal Plan Hours

Breakfast

Bates: Closed

Atrium Café: 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., Monday through Friday

Siegel Center: 7:30 to 10:30 a.m., Monday through Friday

Brunch

Bates: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday

Siegel Center: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday

Lunch

Bates: Noon to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday

Siegel Center: 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday

Health Food Bar: Noon to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday

Atrium Café: 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday

Dinner

Bates: 5 to 7:45 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 5 to 6:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday

Siegel Center: 5 p.m. to midnight

Health Food Bar: 5 to 7:45 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 5 to 6:30 p.m., Friday

The College reserves the right to alter facilities and operating hours during the academic year if necessary. Students on meal plans use their SLC ID to gain access to dining facilities. Entrance will be denied to those without ID. If an ID is misplaced or lost, a 24-hour meal/ID card is available in the Bates Food Service Office. At each facility, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are assigned a specific monetary value (these are announced over the summer and are available upon arrival in the fall), which entitles the student to full fare (including seconds) in Bates Dining Room. If the student chooses to eat a meal in the Siegel Center or the Health Food Bar, the preset values are applicable to all purchases. If such selection in these a la carte facilities exceeds the preset values, the student must pay the difference in cash, FLIK$, or debit cash, but does not receive a refund if the selection totals less than the preset values. Plans 2A, 3, and 4 also have FLIK$, which can be used at any time.

Meal Plan Changes

If a student withdraws or cancels a meal plan during the semester, a percentage of the semester cost is credited based on the following schedule of notice:

• Within the first week 90% of the semester cost
• Within the second week 80% of the semester cost
• Within the third week 60% of the semester cost
• Within the fourth week 40% of the semester cost
• Within the fifth week 20% of the semester cost
• After the fifth week 10% of the semester cost

If a student changes to a lesser meal plan, a reduction fee will be charged based on the percentage schedule above, applied to the difference between the greater and lesser meal plan. First-year students must be on meal plan 1, 2, or 2A for the entire year. Exceptions are granted for medical reasons only and require specific documentation from a physician. Requests and medical documents should be directed to Health Services for evaluation. A student wishing to change to a greater meal plan will be charged the difference between the meal plan costs based on the calculated remainder of the semester. In addition, a student changing a meal plan or canceling a meal plan subsequent to remitting the full semester bill will be charged a $25 change fee.

Meal Plan Schedule for 2007-08

First Meal: New Students, dinner on Saturday, September 1
Returning Students, lunch on Monday, September 3

Thanksgiving: No meal plan meals are served after dinner on Tuesday, November 20, until dinner Sunday, November 25.

Winter Break: The last meal served as part of the meal plan before winter break is lunch on Friday, December 21.

Spring Semester: The first meal served as part of the meal plan will be dinner on Monday, January 21.

Spring Break: The last meal served as part of the meal plan before Spring Break is lunch on Friday, March 14 until dinner on Sunday, March 30.

Final Meal: The last meal served as part of the meal plan at the end of the spring semester is lunch on Friday, May 16. (Seniors may continue to use the meal plan through Commencement day.)