Colleges With the Best Food in the United States

Kent State University is officially a best university for food! For those on a vegetarian or vegan diet, or for those simply looking to eat less meat, Kent State University has you covered! The University offers a call-ahead vegan and vegetarian meal program, called Veggie-A-Go-Go, which makes it convenient to eat meat-free.

The Prentice Café offers a similar program for those on a gluten-free diet, and Eastway Market & Deli also offers gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan to-go meals. Kent State takes goody boxes to a new level, with packages for every occasion.

Parents and friends can send baskets containing soups, teas, and tissues to students who have fallen ill.

Other options, like the fruit basket and the healthy snack basket, are packed with nutritious treats for health-conscious students. Kent State’s carry-out containers are 100% biodegradable, and much of its produce is purchased locally.

Grind2Energy turns food scraps into energy. This innovative process was implemented at Kent State in 2020.

Ranked number 3 by Princeton Review for best campus dining, Bowdoin College also raises the bar for college food. This includes Bowdoin’s commitment to sustainability.

The school’s eco-container program allows students to save money by re-using to-go containers, and students also save 5% on drink purchases for bringing their coffee cups to the café. A percentage of the produce served here is grown on campus in the organic garden.

Bowdoin also strives to make dining fun! The college hosts an annual Lobster Bake for students, as well as various other events throughout each academic year.

Another best college for food is Cornell University. Cornell houses ten all-you-can-eat dining rooms with plenty of menu options, including:

• Create-your-own pancake and omelet bars
• Ethnic and regional food
• Kosher stations
• Salad bars

Each fall, in observance of Day of Dead, the Risley Dining Hall hosts “Night at Hogwarts,” a Harry Potter-themed dinner. Other halls host similar celebrations, such as the:

• Fall Harvest Dinner
• Diwali Festival
• A Mardi Gras celebration with Cajun-style meals and live music

Twenty-two percent of the food served at Cornell is locally and regionally-grown and produced. Cornell’s dairy processing plant is a major source of the dairy products served in the dining facilities.

Sustainability is also important at Cornell; the university offers discounted coffee when students use reusable mugs and facilitates a trayless dining practice to save water and reduce waste.

Have you thought of Georgetown University when considering the best colleges for food? Georgetown University’s dining hall is an all-you-can-eat establishment with:

• Vegan and vegetarian options
• A salad bar
• A make-your-own stations for pasta dishes, pizza, sandwiches, burritos and more

Georgetown University Dining purchases locally-sourced food and sends 25 tons of waste to be composted each month and recycles 100% of used fryer oil. Georgetown also practices trayless dining, saving millions of cups of water annually.

During finals, the dining hall offers themed midnight breakfasts where students are served a late-night meal by university staff members. Some alternative options are available for students and visitors, including Grab n’ Go stations and an on-campus grocery store run by the CORP, an entirely student-run organization.

Emory University makes eating healthy easy with the implementation of its “well-being” food rating. In the dining hall, each food selection is matched with an arrow; the fuller the arrow, the more nutritious the option is.

The dining hall features options for those with dietary restrictions:

• Vegetarian
• Vegan
• Gluten-free
• Kosher

Students and visitors can check the website for a rotating food truck schedule to see where their favorite trucks will be each day.

A farmer’s market is held on Tuesdays throughout the academic year, with vendors selling:

• Bread
• Organic produce
• Tamales
• Gluten-free baked goods
• Artisan salsas

Much of the campus food served at Emory is sustainably or locally grown, and in addition to recycling, the university composts unused food scraps.

With all-you-can-eat dining facilities, grab-and-go meals, an on-campus grocery store and an entirely kosher café, the University of Pennsylvania has thought of everything.

Students have access to free nutrition counseling for information on healthy eating and to address problems ranging from eating disorders to allergies. The university has taken many initiatives toward sustainability, including purchasing humanely raised, antibiotic-free ground beef and rBGH-free dairy.

The chefs at the University of Pennsylvania prepare all meals from scratch using local, seasonal ingredients. Food scraps are composted, and fryer oil is recycled as biofuel, which is used to run some of the catering vans on campus.

The University of California, Los Angeles is home to one of the first health-themed dining halls in the United States. The Bruin Plate Residential Restaurant serves local, unprocessed, organic and nutritious meals to students. For those looking for heartier meals, Covel Commons offers:

• A pasta station
• A wood-fired pizza oven
• Grilled hotdogs, burgers and chicken

UCLA offers online menu containing nutrition information is available for all dining facilities.

Much progress has already been made toward sustainability; most to-go packaging is compostable or recyclable, food scraps are similarly composted, beef-less Thursdays significantly reduce the environmental impact of food consumption, and cooking oil is recycled into biodiesel.

Trayless dining, fryer oil recycling, and hydration stations are just a few of the ways that New York University shows its commitment to sustainability. Each semester, University employees attend training on energy and water conservation to reduce overuse of these resources.

The best college for food has a 100% kosher dining hall, open Sunday-Friday, and plenty of vegetarian options are available in most dining facilities.

The website has a nutrition calculator and full online menus for six of the dining locations. Additionally, students can check out the website for expert advice on healthy eating.

Boston University hosts a farmers’ market each fall. Students are also invited to participate in the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program, purchasing a share of seasonal produce from a local farm during the growing season.

Boston University switches things up each semester with its visiting chef series night, during which time visiting restaurants or celebrity chefs contribute a new menu to the dining options.

The university offers nutrition counseling, covering issues such as:

• Weight management
• Iron-deficiency
• Healthy meal planning
• Nutrition for exercise

Its four dining halls all offer kosher dining; a halal meal program is also available. Students can eat late at the Late Night Kitchen, open until 11 pm Monday-Wednesday and until 1 am Thursday-Saturday, during the academic year.

To encourage students to stay home when ill, the dining service offers a flu meal program. Students can purchase a package online, which is then delivered to the buyer by student volunteers.

The pork, beef, turkey and rotisserie chicken served at Boston University is humanely raised and most is sourced locally.

Washington University was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2014 for converting used fryer oil into biofuel, which fuels campus delivery trucks. The university also provides reusable dishes and compostable or recyclable containers for on-the-go meals, drastically reducing the amount of waste typically generated by student dining.

Meat and produce are purchased from local vendors and meals are available diet options like:

• Allergen-free
• Kosher
• Halal
• Vegetarian

The university offers plenty of on-campus cafes, dining halls and quick stops, such as the Paws & Go market with fresh produce and grab-and-go meals.

Another ranking with best college food is Warren Wilson College. The seasonal menus at Warren Wilson College feature fresh ingredients that are often locally grown. Nutrition labels help students with dietary restrictions quickly identify foods that they can eat.

The Cowpie Café serves GMO-free ingredients and is entirely vegetarian. The café’s menu is also mostly vegan and gluten-free.

The Owl Nest café offers artesian bagels and locally roasted organic coffee, and is nearly a zero-waste facility, composting all waste and recycling 100% of recyclable materials.

Virginia Tech is definitely a top college for food. Rated number 8 on Princeton Review’s “Best Campus Food” list for 2024, Virginia Tech makes it convenient to eat healthily.

Each day, students can check the online menu for each dining facility to view the selections offered and track nutrition information. Results can be filtered to remove foods containing selected allergens.

Virginia Tech Dining Services also has a commitment to sustainability, using:

• Trayless dining
• Food diversion
• Composting and recycling methods to minimize waste

Many of the fruits and vegetables served at Virginia Tech are produced at the university’s 6-acre farm or purchased locally. To switch things up, the university hosts themed meals, such as a Chili Challenge and Thanksgiving Feast.

Middlebury College adds flexibility to the traditional swipe-based meal service. During a dining period, students may enjoy a meal at any all-you-can-eat location. Then, without worrying about wasting a “swipe,” students can return to the same building or gain entry into another facility.

Sustainability is also important at Middlebury College. The University composts roughly 99