Cook Commons is one of our all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities on campus. It's inside Billings. We have three all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities on campus, which is basically just buffet-style eatery. We have 15 dining facilities on campus in total. The 12 other ones very: it might be a grab-and-go, a bagel place, a restaurant, a pub--they're all very different from each other. We have two different meal plans at UVM. One is the Unlimited Dining option. So, that's one you would use at Cook Commons, one of the all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities. So, you get an unlimited amount of blocks per semester, and you just swipe in at the entrance to the dining facility and eat to your heart's desire. You can only use the blocks at the three all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities on campus.
The other plan is called the Retail Points Plan, where you get a certain amount of points per semester, and you can use those at any of the 15 dining facilities on campus. It's basically a dollar-for-dollar equivalent. So, if you buy a $3 yogurt, you get 3 points deducted. You can also mix and match. So, the Unlimited Dining option has points and retail points has some blocks.
It really depends on what kind of eater you are what plan you want to get. For example, I was an extremely picky eater before I came to UVM, I didn't eat pizza, hamburgers, pasta sauce, spinach, cheese, like, I think I just, like ate yogurt, I guess, I didn't eat very much. But now I eat all those things, except I'm still not that into tomato sauce. But that is why I got the Retail Points Plan, because I can really change up the scenery and be a really picky eater. But let's say you're a student athlete or you eat three big sit-down meals a day. Then the Unlimited Dining option might be a better choice for you. But they also give you a 2-week grace period, where you can just figure out which dining plan is going to work out the best for you.
Also, all the 15 dining facilities on campus offer a vegan or vegetarian option. One of my favorite places to eat is the MarcheĢ on Athletic Campus. They have a vegan station, and they make the food fresh in front of you. It's always delicious. I'm not even a vegan, but it is so good. And then, if there is an allergy you have and they're not addressing it, in one of dining facilities you can just fill out a form, and they'll make meals for you.