Dining | Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Dining

Close up photo of a greek bowl at MCAD

MCAD Cafe 

When it comes to food, your options are pretty much endless. Whether you need a full meal or just a coffee, the MCAD Cafe has you covered. The Cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the academic year, offering a wide variety of fresh food options. The staff can accommodate those with special dietary needs and preferences, including vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free diners, to name a few. The Cafe is passionate about using sustainable and ethical practices, such as recycling, composting, and cooking with locally produced products. 

Students who live in MCAD housing are required to participate in a declining-balance Dining Dollars plan, providing a convenient method to pay for meals.

Resident Student Dining Plan

While MCAD’s residential apartments provide fully equipped kitchens, MCAD also has an on-campus cafe serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks during the academic year. In addition, a self-serve Micro Market is located in the Cafe and offers a wide variety of items including frozen pizzas and meals, beverages, snacks, and sandwiches. 

To promote healthy eating habits, resident students are required to purchase a declining-balance dining plan for use in the MCAD Cafe. The plan will be charged each semester along with tuition and MCAD apartment rent. Students may choose to add additional funds to the minimum plan.

Declining-balance Dining Dollars Plan options include:

  • $1,400 Dining Dollars each semester. This plan provides approximately 10 meals a week at $9 each.
  • $2,000 Dining Dollars each semester. This plan provides approximately 14 meals a week at $9 each.  

Please keep in mind that this is an approximation and depends on how much the student actually spends and eats at each meal.

Commuter Student Dining Dollars

While you may not live on campus, you will undoubtedly spend a lot of time on campus. Make purchasing from the Cafe even easier by buying a declining dollar card.

*Dining plan is subject to change

Food from the MCAD Cafe

Other Food Options

If you like to cook, convenient campus shuttles make regular trips to nearby grocery stores. MCAD's on-campus apartments offer full kitchens, including refrigerators, ovens, and stovetops.

If you like to eat out or cook in, campus is two blocks from the famous Eat Street on Nicollet Avenue, which boasts more than fifty destinations for eating out or grocery shopping. To name a few stores within walking distance of MCAD's campus:

  • Aldi Foods
    2601 Lyndale Avenue South
    Minneapolis, MN 55408
  • Shuang Hur Supermarket Minneapolis
    2712 Nicollet Ave
    Minneapolis, MN 55408
  • The Wedge Co-op
    2105 Lyndale Ave South 
    Minneapolis, MN 55405

Here are just a few of students’ favorite food spots:

Food Support 

Some of these costs can cause stress and impact your academic success and personal well-being. Help comes in a variety of forms. 

MCAD has established an Emergency Student Assistance Fund, generously supported by a group of board members and supporters. Available to current MCAD students, this fund provides limited financial assistance to students who are unable to meet essential expenses. 

Off Campus