East Carolina University - Campus DiningCollege Prowler2.69

Campus Dining:

C+

(explain this grade)

Comparable Schools'
Campus Dining Grades:

Quick Stats

Freshman Meal Plan Requirement

Yes - The Pirate 14+ Plan is recommended because students typically go through a lot more Pirate Bucks than one may think

Average Meal Plan Cost

$1,245 - $1,725 per semester

Off-Campus Places to Use Flex Money

  • None

Student Favorites

  • Chick-fil-A at the Croatan
  • Subway
  • The Wright Place

24-Hour Dining

  • None, but Subway and The Galley are open late

Special Options

  • The campus food service has a monopoly on food sold on campus, except for organization bake sales, which are prevalent on Wright Plaza. Bake sales are popular because whatever the groups are selling is generally better than the pseudo-pastries and rubbery cakes that the food service sells.

College Prowler Take

Despite gross amounts of money spent on expansion and catchy location names in recent years, the food on campus has not improved much. The food is decent for the first week of the semester, after breaks, or whenever parents are expected to be in town. The rest of the time, especially before breaks, the food is questionable. Students complain that the food gives them stomach cramps, makes them feel starved just an hour after they have eaten, and makes them gain weight even if they control their eating and work out at the Rec, but the number of dining locations does mean that your next meal is never more than a short walk away, despite the quality. Campus Dining tries desperately, but unsuccessfully, to maintain a façade of trendy and tasty food. West End Dining, the construction of which sacrificed a diverse stand of trees and an historic amphitheater, offers a source for vegetarian, vegan, and organic foods, but the large facility is just another mask for less-than-adequate food. Chick-fil-A and Subway are popular on-campus fast food options, and Sbarro is new on campus, but students say the pizza is the same Wright Place “pizza” as before, just put in a Sbarro box. Those who are worried about the “Freshman 15” during their first year away from home-cooked food should plan to not be dazzled by the food options at ECU. Check the nutrition information on the CampusDish Web site, and work out at the Rec.

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Students Speak Out

Love your school more than free food? Hate your school more than term papers?
Somewhere in between? Show the world what YOU think of YOUR school:

Anonymous says:

The food on campus is so-so. The...

The food on campus is so-so. The specialty food areas are good sometimes, but it gets old because it’s not enough regular, plain food. I wish they had more Southern-style vegetables and other cooking. I’m not talking about mealy butterbeans and mushy squash. I mean real vegetables.

Campus Dining
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Anonymous says:

I love the West End Dining Hall. I...

I love the West End Dining Hall. I almost felt like I was dreaming when I walked inside for the first time. I’m a new student, so I never got to see the old one inside Mendenhall. Some of the girls on my hall told me they liked seeing the trees outside Mendenhall and liked seeing everyone go in and out of the Student Center. They said the food isn’t any better at the new place. I guess I like eating on campus, but I feel like I have to eat even if I don’t want to since I paid so much money for it. Sometimes eating on campus is miserable, but the dining hall looks pretty cool.

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Anonymous says:

I love the ice cream machine at...

I love the ice cream machine at Todd. I make floats all the time with chocolate ice cream and Dr. Pepper, and let me tell you, that’s some good stuff right there. I like that the meal plan lets me eat as much as I want. I eat a lot. I’d hate to see the nutrition facts for some of that stuff. It looks really bad and greasy. I try to eat all the stuff that isn’t swimming in salt and grease.

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Anonymous says:

I love Chick-fil-A, but I can’t...

I love Chick-fil-A, but I can’t eat it all the time, even if I’d like to: they aren’t open on Sundays, as a company rule. Brunch is decent on the weekends in the dining halls, but I go to Subway to get fresh vegetables.

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Anonymous says:

Back when I lived on campus, I had...

Back when I lived on campus, I had a meal plan because I had to, but I can’t afford it anymore. It’s too expensive compared to what I can fix at my apartment, which is better than the junk stuff on campus anyway.

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Interested in
East Carolina?

Dining Halls

Blimpie
Subs, sandwiches, salads
LAHN Building, Medical Campus
Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m.

C3 Express
Grab-and-go snacks and sandwiches, Starbucks coffee
Kiosk in Bate lobby
Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m.–9 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m.

Center Court Juice Bar
Smoothies, yogurt, pretzels, salads
The Rec Center
Monday–Thursday 6:30 a.m.–11 p.m., Friday 6:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m., Saturday 9:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m., Sunday 9:30 a.m.–11 p.m.

Destination 360
Bleecker St. Deli, Pirate Grill, Bene Pizza
Mendenhall Student Center
Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–12 a.m., Saturday–Sunday 12 p.m.–12 a.m.

Java City at Joyner Library
Specialty coffees, sandwiches, bakery
Joyner Library
Monday–Thursday 8 a.m.–12 a.m., Friday 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Saturday 10:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Sunday 11:30 a.m.–12 a.m.

Java City at Mendenhall Student Center
Specialty coffees, sandwiches, bakery
Mendenhall Student Center
Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m.–12 a.m., Saturday 12 p.m.–12 a.m., Sunday 12 p.m.–10:30 p.m.

Java City Cardiovascular
Specialty coffees, sandwiches, bakery
Cardiovascular building, first floor
Monday-Friday 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

Marie’s Place
Snack bar, coffee
Minges Coliseum
Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–2 p.m.

Pirate Market & Java City
Convenience items, Java City, Krispy Kreme
Jones Hall
Monday–Thursday 7 a.m.–1 a.m., Friday 7 a.m.–12 a.m., Saturday 12 p.m.–12 a.m., Sunday 12 p.m.–1 a.m.

Pirate’s Chest
Convenience items, toiletries, grab-and-go sandwiches, Java City
College Hill Suites
Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m., 7:30 p.m.–10:30 p.m.

Reade Street Market & Subway
Subway, Sushi with Gusto, convenience items
Next to West End Dining Hall
Sunday–Thursday 10:30 a.m.–12 a.m., Friday–Saturday 10:30 a.m.–2:30 a.m.

The Croatan
Chick-fil-A, Java City, Sushi with Gusto
Near Fletcher Music Building, the Brewster Building, and the Rivers Building
Monday–Thursday 7 a.m.–7 p.m., Friday 7 a.m.–5 p.m.

The Galley
Bene Pizzeria, JUMP! Asian, Bene Pizza, Subway, Jolé Molé Grill
Jones Hall
Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m.–1 a.m., Friday 7:30 a.m.–12 a.m., Saturday 12 p.m.–12 a.m., Sunday 12 p.m.–1 a.m.

The Wright Place
Montague’s Deli, Sushi with Gusto, Java City, Krispy Kreme, Sbarro
Across the Student Plaza from the Rawl Building
Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m.–9 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m.

Todd Dining Hall
Entrees, breakfast, salad bar, pizza bar, grill, deli
College Hill Drive
Monday–Thursday 7 a.m.–9:30 a.m., 11 a.m.–2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.–8 p.m., Friday 7 a.m.–9:30 a.m., 11 a.m.–2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m., Saturday 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m., Sunday 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.–8 p.m.

West End Dining Hall
The Bistro, the Pitt rotisserie, Reade Street Grill, Wrap and Roll, Fire and Rice Mongolian grill, the Center Isle, Amore
Reade Circle
Monday–Thursday 7 a.m.–9:30 a.m., 11 a.m.–2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m., Friday 7 a.m.–9:30 a.m., 11 a.m.–2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m., Saturday 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m., Sunday 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.–8 p.m.

Did You Know?


Pepsi has the contract for soft drinks on campus, so anyone who wants a Coca-Cola has to walk to a restaurant or bring it with them to campus. Some people were so dedicated to Coca-Cola that they used to walk over to the drink machine behind McDonald’s, but it is not there anymore.

The CampusDish Web site has menus for Todd Dining Hall and West End Dining Hall. Check it out at www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSSE/ECU.

Campus dining has specials like Taco Tuesday, fried chicken every Wednesday for lunch, theme dinners every Thursday, and premium nights when the food served is actually better than usual.

Most Recent Contributing Author

Name: Samantha Mandel
Hometown: Matthews, NC
Major: Biology

Fun Fact: Samantha can make an extremely weird shape with her mouth, kind of like a "fish face," that no one else she has met is able to do.

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