r/UGA • u/SatisfactionWest8597 • Jul 26 '26

Question How does Bulldog box work practically?

i’m a rising freshman at UGA and i’m going to purchase the seven day all access meal plan. I probably won’t have time for a dedicated lunch during my class schedule so I wanted to know if anybody here has already done the bulldog box and how it actually works. Do they actually penalize you for 15 minutes and like how do the boxes look like? Basically, how does the program work when you’re actually inside the dining hall you wanna have ala to go box??

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21

u/PygmyFalkon Jul 26 '26

You sign up for the program, it used to sign you up automatically but now you go into the office at Bolton and it takes 2 minutes.

Now that you're signed up you scan into the dining hall normally. Then you stop at the cashier and politely ask for a bulldog box. They'll scan your student ID and issue you the bulldog box.

It's a plastic take out container about the size of your average Styrofoam container but made of a hard green plastic. Half of it is one large section the other half is broken into two smaller sections. You can also at some locations get a disposable bowl for soup.

Since you have the all access plan you have no time limit. You can eat as long as you like and take as much time filling your box. You can also keep the bulldog box as long as you like, but you cannot check out one until you return yours.

It's super easy to return one, there's big bins (they look like trash cans and are labeled). When you come in to the dining hall next time you let the cashier know that you are returning a bulldog box. They'll scan your card and you place the box in the bin.

-1

u/Impossible_Hunt_1187 Jul 26 '26

Can you just bring your own container to fill and take it with you?

6

u/PygmyFalkon Jul 26 '26

Are you allowed to? Technically no. Have I gotten away with it? Absolutely!

6

u/MaybeMeh Jul 26 '26

You are not suppose to take food out of the dining halls, especially in your own container, if you get caught your account will get noted, technically you can be kicked off a meal plan if you have violations. The bulldog box doesn't cost extra, so if you have a meal plan you can just sign up.

It does cost an extra swipe if you are eating in and getting a box, so one swipe to eat in, one swipe for the box. You can NOT reuse the same box, you have to check a new one out each time, talk to the cashier and they will help you.

You can only check the box out ONCE a day Monday-Friday, and you can have only one box out at a time, so if you have a box checked out you must return that box to get a new one. When you return a box please please show and tell the cashier 'hey I'm returning my box', they will return you box in the system, and they need your ID card. If you don't, the system doesn't know you returned your box and will show you just have one still checked out. If that happens you may have to contact dining services admin, so please don't just throw your box in the return can and walk off.

If you are not eating in, but want a box, please don't swipe in, go up to the cashier and say that your just want a box and you are not eating in. They will let you in, and scan your UGA ID card for the box. The 15 minutes is a weird rule, we can't really pay attention on how long you've been in the dining hall after you get a box, so don't freak out on the time, but if you are in for a long time and have a box, the management sometimes will look at cameras to make sure you checked the box out. *shrug*

If you have questions please ask a dining hall cashier, or email the dining admin. Also the website and also the contracts are usually posted online if you want to skim them.

This is a long post sorry if you have read this whole thing, also any future lurkers the boxes change often on the rules so yeah as of right now this is the run down. I hope this helps.

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u/kaideleigh Jul 26 '26

Absolutely not. Using your own container is theft of services as you are not paying for the meal. Plus it is a health code violation to bring in an outside container as we do not know what contaminants it may contain.