Liliana Ciraulo

FREE FOOD @ NOW

First-year students at Dartmouth are placed onto the Ivy Unlimited dining plan, which, in short, guarantees that you'll never go hungry! Students can use unlimited meal swipes at our dining hall, known as Foco, and are also allotted $250 in dining dollars at other dining locations. While this dining plan is a good place to start, it also has some drawbacks - primarily, if you're not the biggest fan of Foco, the unlimited plan is not ideal. This is where other dining plans come into play. After your first year at Dartmouth, you are free to pick between various dining plans that each offer differing amounts of swipes and dining dollars.

My personal plan is the 80-block, which allows me 80 meal swipes and $725 in dining dollars per term. I picked this plan because I do not often eat at Foco, so the unlimited plan was not the ideal plan for me. Unlike the unlimited, the other dining plans have to be managed carefully by the student - if you aren't paying attention, you may run out of swipes and dining dollars before the term is over!

So, what can you do if you run out - or, if you just want to be a little more economical with your meal plan? Look no further than Dartmouth's most underrated events: those with free food. Most of these events are advertised through email - for instance, a club meeting might have pizza, or an information session might have Thai food. But besides these, my most favorite free food events are house community events.

In the fall of 2016, Dartmouth unveiled a brand-new component of residential life: house communities. We have six houses - Allen, East Wheelock, North Park, School, South, and West - each (roughly) covering varying geographical spots on campus. (If you're curious, feel free to explore this page and cross-reference with a map of campus!) Each first-year student is placed into a house, which will be your house for your time at Dartmouth. Houses put on bonding events and activities throughout every single term, such as intramural sports playing, merch drops, and bus trips to Boston! And, of course, the food.

So there I was, scrolling through my emails, when I noticed that my house - School House - was holding a community dinner at the Cube, a communal, all-purpose space that School House and Allen House share. I enjoy studying and doing homework at the Cube, but it's also a great spot to gather with friends - especially because it has its very own snack bar!

I attended the community dinner with a fellow School House friend, and we had a blast! The food was catered by Taj-E India, a takeaway restaurant in White River Junction, Vermont - just across the Connecticut River. I had never tried Taj-E India before since I regrettably don't venture outside Hanover as much as I should. The food was delicious, and School House sponsored the entire event!

Here it is, in all its glory.

In addition to just the free food, School House had two beautiful cakes, bluegrass music playing live, and School House merchandise for students to grab! The Cube was packed with students enjoying the atmosphere and company.

Events like these are not uncommon throughout the term - in fact, there's another one coming up soon, too! The best part is that these events are fully sponsored by Dartmouth - hence, the free food aspect. Free food events can certainly help you out if you're in a bind - for instance, if you've plowed through all of your swipes and dining dollars, but they're also just a good time. I'm at most free food events throughout each term - last term, I went to so many that I was actually struggling to use up my remaining swipes and dining dollars at the end of the term… what a good problem to have!