Bon Appetit cooks from scratch using fresh, authentic ingredients. They participate in a Farm to Fork program; which means their first choice is to purchase seasonal ingredients from small, owner-operated farms and ranches within a 150-mile radius of our café. They work hard to offer a healthy, nutritious, and delicious menu.
Most importantly, Bon Appetit cares about the guests. They are committed to knowing that guests are leaving happy and satisfied. If this is not happening, they want to know! If you have questions, comments, feedback, or suggestions, please let Bon Appetit know. You can contact Daniel Bustamante, Chef, at daniel.bustamante@cafebonappetit.com or visit their office located in Elaine’s Dining Commons.
You can view hours, daily menus, staff contact information, ordering online, and more on Bon Appetit's website. For addtional tips and tricks, meal plan requirements, general information, and closure dates, review our Elaine's Dining and Rose Hills Cafe Housing One Sheet.
All residential students will select their meal plan choice as a part of the housing application. Students that commute, who want a meal plan, can select one online through their dashboard right before the semester begins. Once the meal plan request is submitted, you will see the charges appear on your student account.
2024-2025 Meal Plan Costs
Students living in the residence hall are required to purchase a meal plan. The meal plan can be used in Elaine’s Dining Commons or the Rose Hills Foundation Cafe. Students purchase a plan based on the number of meals per week. More information about Bon Appetit can be found by visiting their website.
Meal Plan Costs |
Fall |
Spring |
Academic Year |
---|---|---|---|
10 Meal Plan + $100 Dining Dollars |
$2,332 |
$2,144 |
$4,476 |
14 Meal Plan + $150 Dining Dollars |
$3,122 |
$2,850 |
$5,972 |
17 Meal Plan + $150 Dining Dollars |
$3,596 |
$3,280 |
$6,876 |
Foundation students living in the Residence Hall are required to have at least a 14 meal plan. Continuing students living in the Residence Hall are required at leaast a 14 meal plan. Foundation students living at Park West are required to have at least a 10 meal plan. Continuing students living at Park West can choose to sign up for a meal plan, but are not required to have one. |
All meal plans come with a predetermined amount of dining dollars. Dining Dollars are bonus money added to a students’ ID card when they purchase a 17, 14, or 10 meal plan. Dining Dollars can be used in Elaine’s Dining Commons or the Otis College Café.
Otis College Meal Plans, Dining Dollars and Owl Dollars
Below are some of the most frequently asked questions around meal plans, dining dollars, and owl dollars. If you have additional questions or want more details regarding the answers below, please reach out to Daniel Bustamante, Chef, at daniel.bustamante@cafebonappetit.com or visit their office located in Elaine’s Dining Commons.
The entire Bon Appetit team want to make your dining experience enjoyable! If you have questions, comments, feedback, or suggestions, please let any Bon Appetit staff know!
We are excited to welcome back our students and guests to:
- 100% capacity indoor table dining
- walk-up ordering
- staffed serving stations (salad bar, pizza and hot entrée)
- self-serve beverage & coffee stations
Bon Appetit, our dining services partner, is preparing a dining experience that supports health and well-being, safety, and physical distancing guidelines. Students will have access to download GET Foods App from their mobile phone play store, which allows users to view menus and pictures of food items and order meals at Elaine’s and Rose Hill’s Cafe, and pay with campus dining funds, NCF and credit or debit cards.
Cal-OSHA & the CDC recently reduced dining & social distance restrictions. However, our Bon Appetit team is continuing to keep safety the staff, students and all guest the number one priority by:
- requesting that ALL guests regardless of vaccination status, entering Elaine’s or Rose Hill’s Café, MUST wear a mask. Unless when exemptions apply.
- daily employee health assessment & temperature checks upon arrival to work
- following recommended quarantine protocols
- staff will continue to wear face masks and gloves
- increasing sanitizing for high contact areas
- offering contactless pay options
Students have the ability to use only one meal swipe during set times for each meal period.
- Elaine’s Dining Commons hours are:
- Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.–7:45 p.m. (Café Gates Closed 10:00am-11:00am)
- Saturday and Sunday between 10:30 a.m.–7:45 p.m. (Café Gates Closed 1:30–3:30 p.m.)
- Rose Hills' Café hours are:
- Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. (Closed Saturday & Sunday)
Yes. However, you may ONLY purchase prepackaged foods using your Dining Dollars, Owl Dollars, NCF, Credit or Debit Cards at Elaine’s Dining Commons. Rose Hill's Café does allow meal purchases of specified food items, including some bottled beverages, during the Meal Exchange periods only.
The Meal Exchange program allows students to use a meal swipe in the Rose Hill's Café when Elaine’s is not open (10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. and 7:45–10:00 p.m.). The meal swipe includes one entrée, two sides, and one beverage. More details about the Meal Exchange program is available at Rose Hill’s Café and on Bon Appetit's website.
Dining Dollars are bonus money added to a students’ ID card when they purchase a 17, 14, or 10 meal plan. Students who purchase a 14 or 17 meal plan will receive $150 dining dollars each semester. Students on the 10 meal plan will receive $100 dinning dollars a semester. Dining Dollars only work in Elaine’s and the Rose Hill's Café.
Owl Dollars can be loaded onto a student’s OneCard and work like a declining balance account. Funds added to your account do not earn interest. Owl Dollars can be used for purchases in both Elaine’s and the Rose Hill's Café. Residential students can also use Owl Dollars to pay for their laundry. In the next few months, Otis College will be implementing Owl Dollar purchases at the Graphaids Store, campus vending machines, and print center/labs. More information about Owl Dollars can be found online.
Dining Dollars are added to your student OneCard with the purchase of a meal plan that can be used in the two on-campus dining facilities. Owl Dollars is added to your student OneCard by you or a family member that can be used in the dining facilities, but also around campus such as for doing laundry in the residence hall.
You may retrieve your OneCard transaction history and view account balances by logging onto your account at GET or by asking the cashier as you checkout.
No additional money can be added to your Dining Dollars account. Money can be added as Owl Dollars, though, which can be used in the Café and Elaine’s.
There will not be a refund on any unused Dining Dollars.
Dining Dollars will carry over from a student’s first semester in housing, to the second semester in housing as long as they are consecutive semesters. If a student leaves housing, but remain at Otis College, the dining dollars will expire once they move out of housing.
Add Owl Dollars onto your OneCard by going to GET and paying with a credit card or go to an Add Value Station (AVS) located in both the Student Life Center and the 2nd floor of Ahmanson Hall and pay with cash. No change is given from an AVS. Deposits made online or at an AVS will be available immediately on your account. The minimum amount of Owl Dollars you can place per transaction is $10.00 and the maximum is $500. The maximum total amount of funds a student can have on their OneCard is $2,500.
You may retrieve your OneCard transaction history and view account balances by logging onto your account at GET.
Once Owl Dollars are loaded onto your OneCard, these funds remain on your OneCard until they are spent, or until you are no longer enrolled as an Otis student. Refunds are not permitted while you are enrolled, so carefully consider how much money you place on your card. Unused funds roll over from semester to semester as long as you are enrolled as an Otis student. A refund of Owl Dollars can only be processed if you have more than $10 on your OneCard and you are no longer an Otis College student (due to graduation or withdrawal/leave of absence). If you meet these requirements, please complete a OneCard Refund Application. The Business Office will review the Application and, upon approval, move the amount to your Student Account. The funds will be used to pay any outstanding charges on your Student Account. If a credit balance remains once all charges are paid, we will issue a refund within 2-4 weeks. Applications must be received within 90 days of graduation or withdrawal/leave of absence from Otis College.
Bon Appetit welcomes your feedback and suggestions! The best way to provide this information is contacting Belinda McKinney directly at 310-351-0932. On the bottom of Bon Appetit's website there is also a space where you can leave a Café Comment or Fill Out a Satisfaction Survey.
You are able to change your meal plan options beginning the first day of class through the first two weeks of each semester. Residential students can only increase their plan not decrease to a smaller plan. This window of time should allow you the opportunity to determine if you are signed-up for the correct meal plan once you have had a chance to dine in Elaine’s. Once the second week of school has passed, you will not be allowed to change your meal plan until the next semester. To change your meal plan option, please visit the Office of Residence Life and Housing.
Any meals not used each week for forfeited. Meals do not carry over from week to week. If you elect to move out of housing or are dismissed/removed from housing but remain enrolled at Otis College, you are required to maintain your meal plan level for the remainder of the semester that you left housing. No changes or refunds will be permitted. If you take a leave of absence or fully withdraw from the semester, you will be granted a refund based on the last meal date. The day that students move out of housing will determine the student’s last meal. A refund will be issued based on the remaining days left in the board plan.