Dining FAQs

  • I want to talk to someone about changing my meal plan–who should I talk to?

    Housing Services can talk with students about changing their dining plan. Changes are not always approved but Housing Services staff can direct students through the request.

  • How can I purchase a new meal plan?

    Fall 25 meal plans are now available for purchase in Cardinal Students. Students can log in to Cardinal Students to make decreases to their Fall 2025 meal plan on or before August 29.2025. After the cut off date, please contact the Housing Services to purchase a new meal plan or upgrade a meal plan.
    Faculty and Staff members can purchase Faculty & Staff meal plans here. New meal plan purchases will be effective by 12:00 noon on the next business day.

  • My Cardinal Card didn’t work at the Food Court/Garvey Dining Hall. What should I do?

    If your meal plan did not work in any of the dining locations, please send your first and last names, Cardinal ID number, which dining location and when did the incident happen to cua-diningservices@cua.edu

    If you need help with your Cardinal Card, please see this page. 

  • I lost my Cardinal Card–what should I do?

    Students should immediately report a lost card to the Office of Parking and Transportation and plan to purchase a new card.  Please see more details here

  • How to check your balance?

    There are 3 ways you can check your Meal Swipes and Dining Dollars balances:

  • How many meal swipes can I use in a day?

    Fall 2025 Meal Plans

    Open Access
    Unlimited meals at Garvey Dining Hall per week. 2 Meal Deal swipes per day in the retail locations (Murphy's Grill, Pryz Food Court and The Pryz Market).

    Weekly Meal Plans
    No restrictions on daily use of meal swipes at Garvey Dining Hall. A maximum of 2 Meal Deal swipes per day are allowed at the retail locations (Murphy's Grill, Pryz Food Court and The Pryz Market). At the end of each week, any unused meals on your meal plan will expire and the following week (early Sunday morning) will start with the allotted 14 or 7 meals. 

    Community/Faculty & Staff Meal Plans: No restrictions on daily use of meal swipes. Meal Deal Swipe can be used in exchange for a meal swipe at the retail locations (Murphy's Grill, Pryz Food Court and The Pryz Market). 

    For more information about the meal plans, please click here. 

  • How many Dining Dollars do I get with my meal plan?

    Log in to the Cardinal Card Account Management. Check the number of meal swipes and dining dollars of your student meal plan purchased. 

  • How can I purchase dining dollars

    Dining dollars can be purchased from the Cardinal Card Account Management.

  • What’s the difference between Dining Dollars and Cardinal Cash?

    Dining Dollars are associated with meal plans and can be used at on-campus dining service locations such as the Food Court, Murphy's Grill, The Pryz Market and Starbucks. They can also be used to make purchases at the Pryz Market. Additional funds can be added to Dining Dollars only by those students participating in student meal plans. Dining Dollars rollover from fall to spring semester provided there is an active meal plan.  If there is not an active meal plan, the Dining Dollars will not roll over. Dining Dollars will expire at the end of the academic year.

    Cardinal Cash is a debit account allowing students to make payments anywhere the Cardinal Card is accepted, such as the campus bookstore, libraries, all the dining services locations except Garvey, where requires a meal swipe. Cardinal Cash of an active student will roll over from semester to semester until s/he leaves the univeristy.

    For more information, please visit https://cardinalcard.catholic.edu/

  • How do I use Boost to order food?

    With Boost mobile ordering app, you can: 
    - Skip the line!
    - Customize orders!
    - Pick up on your schedule!
    - Get exclusive offers!

    Boost mobile ordering will be offered at Chick-fil-A, Which Wich, and True Burger! You can order your meal directly through the app using your credit/debit card or Cardinal Card. 

    Download the Boost App
    Search Boost Ordering on Android or iOS in the app store or text BOOST to 99299 to get the app. Download the app, search Catholic University, order from your favorite location, and select a pickup time that suits your schedule!

    For details, please see this page

  • Can I get my Cardinal Cash refunded? If so, how do I do that?

    Yes, and a request should be made to cua-conferences@cua.edu. The requester will be required to register as a payee (vendor) in PaymentWorks, the university's payment platform in order to get the refund.

  • What are the Hours of Operation of all the dining outlets?

    You can find all the dining outlets Hours of Operation here

  • I am allergic to some food, who can I talk to?

    Contact the Campus Dietitian by emailing Registered Dietitian or call 202- 319 - 5647 for assistance. Useful information is also available under the "Wellness & Sustainability" tag of the Dining Services website. 

  • I have feedback I would like to provide – how can I do that?

    You can send your feedback here. Thank you.