This post was updated March 15 at 7:31 p.m.

UCLA’s off-campus meal plan pilot scheme will continue into the spring quarter. 

In a Thursday email to residents living in UCLA’s off-campus apartments, UCLA Dining said it would again offer the opportunity to residents to purchase 77 swipes at the cost of a $1,155 up-front payment. The plan will be given to the first 500 students who sign up. 

The pilot scheme was available for a limited number of weeks during the fall quarter, and was also offered to 500 residents in the winter quarter. According to an emailed statement from UCLA Housing, less than 100 residents purchased the meal plan in each of the last two quarters when it was offered.

The long-term goal is to offer the plan to all students living off campus rather than just residents of University Apartments North, UCLA Housing said in the statement.

The university additionally recently announced an increase in dining options available to students, including breakfast options at Bruin Café and a new late-night pizza option at the De Neve Residential Restaurant, which would be available under the pilot meal plan. 

UCLA Dining had previously told the Daily Bruin that it was experiencing staffing shortages, which is why it was unable to offer these services. However, in an emailed statement, UCLA Housing said it does not anticipate the additional dining hall users being a problem because it has since expanded hours and increased staffing.

The off-campus meal plan works out to $15 per meal. In comparison, residents on the Hill who purchase 19 meals a week with the ability to eat multiple times per meal pay roughly $10.10 per meal. 

“We remain committed to continually evaluating the program’s effectiveness and will make necessary adjustments to ensure it offers flexible options to students while also covering operational costs,” UCLA Housing said in the statement.

Unlike residents of the Hill, purchasers of the off-campus meal plan will not be permitted to purchase food from ASUCLA locations, including Epicuria at Ackerman. They will instead be able to receive food from any dining location on the Hill, including food trucks, and will be permitted to eat multiple times per meal period. 

“The meal plan will operate like a premier plan, where students can swipe more than once per meal period,” UCLA Housing said in the email. “This is 7 meals per week for the rest of the quarter, but students have the flexibility to use swipes as they would like.”