Commencement Week will be held this year from Sunday, May 18, 2025 through Sunday, May 25, 2025.
On Campus Dining
Brown Dining Services operates a staff canteen on campus during Commencement week. Canteen offerings will include breakfast, lunch, and dinner entrees as well as grab-and-go items. Members of the Brown community will be able to purchase food at the canteen directly via cash, debit/credit card, and Bear Bucks. Commencement staff and volunteers with department sponsored meals will be able to use their assigned swipes to purchase meals at the canteen.
The Blue Room will also be open to the public during Commencement week. The Blue Room accepts cash, debit/credit cards, Bear Bucks, and flex points from active meal plans.
All Spring meal plans will expire at the end of the day on Saturday, May 17th, except for Seniors and Brown RISD dual degree students. Seniors and Brown RISD dual degree students may continue to use their Spring meal plans to purchase meals at the canteen and Blue Room through Commencement week. Senior and Brown RISD dual degree student meal plans expire at the end of day Sunday, May 25th.
Locations & Hours
Location: Staff Canteen (Josiah's) at 114 Power St in the Vartan Gregorian Quad.
Hours: 7:30am to 7:30pm Sunday May 18th through Friday May 23rd. We will have extended hours on Commencement weekend and will be open 5:30am to 7:30pm on Saturday May 24th and Sunday May 25th.
Location: Blue Room
Hours: 8:00am to 3:00pm daily, Saturday May 17th through Sunday May 25th.
Off Campus Dining
Providence boasts a vibrant culinary scene and is considered one of the most restaurant-dense cities in the United States, with the highest number of restaurants per capita. Consistently recognized as one of the top foodie cities in the country, it offers an impressive array of dining options, from beloved classics like pizza and hamburgers to innovative food trucks and diverse international cuisine. Seafood lovers can enjoy fresh local catches, while farm-to-table restaurants showcase Rhode Island’s rich agricultural offerings. Visitors are encouraged to make reservations early to experience Providence’s dynamic and highly sought-after dining scene.
Department Sponsored Meals
As a reminder, units must provide meals commensurate with the number of days worked for student and staff employees working the event. To purchase meals for staff and students working in your unit, please download the Commencement Meal Request template and share/send the completed sheet to dining_services@brown.edu. Dining Services staff will work with units to assign meals to the appropriate Brown ID cards so that students and staff can swipe their cards at the canteen to purchase meals. Units will be billed by Dining Services via Workday.
The deadline to submit orders for your unit is Friday, May 9, 2025.
If you need to make changes to your request, please email dining_services@brown.edu. No changes will be accepted after Thursday May 15th.
BULK MEAL PICKUP
Departments that would like to request large orders for pick up from the canteen can submit a request using the Commencement Bulk Pick Up Form up to the day before pick up. If you have questions about bulk ordering or need to change/cancel a request, please contact express-delivery@brown.edu
Bulk meal pickup requests are for a minimum of 5 meals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I need to add meals additional meals for someone?
To add additional meals to someone's account before the May 9th deadline, please create a new request since it's likely we've already processed the original request. After the deadline please email us at dining_services@brown.edu for any adjustments. All changes are final as of Thursday, May 15th. No new changes will be accepted after 5/15.
What if I need to remove meals or remove someone from the list?
As long as they haven't used the meals we can revoke the request and remove the meals from their Brown ID. Please let us know as soon as possible by sending a note to dining_services@brown.edu since the department will be charged for any meals used. The deadline to request to remove meals or a person from the list is by the end of day Thursday, May 15th.
Is the process for requesting meals different for students vs faculty or staff?
No, the process is the same for students, staff, or faculty workers. You would enter the number of meals the department is sponsoring for them into the sheet.
How do I know when the meals have been applied to the student, staff, or faculty member's ID?
Send an email to dining_services@brown.edu or call our office at 3-3343.
What if someone has a swipe issue on site when they come to get a meal?
If someone has an issue swiping for a meal, managers on site will have access to the requests to verify that the customer is eligible for meals. Once they have been verified, we'll have the customer fill out a virtual log sheet so that we can charge the meal back to the department sponsoring their meals.
If someone doesn't use all of the meals we've purchased for them, do we still get charged?
Yes. Whatever meals have been requested are what you would be charged for. We use the numbers to plan for staffing and buy product based on how many meals have been requested. It’s another reason we have a deadline for the requests, to allow us enough time to order what we need and ensure the right levels of staffing ahead of time.
What is the deadline to submit bulk pickup requests?
You may submit requests for bulk pickups of meals up to the day before the pickup.
Do I have to provide a list of names and IDs for bulk meal pickup?
No, you we will only need to know how many meals you will need, not who they are for.
Where do I pick up my bulk meal request?
At the Staff Canteen, located at Josiah's at 114 Power St, on the ground floor of Vartan Gregorian Quad A.