The 30 Colleges With The Best Campus Food You've Ever Seen
It's not all bad! In fact, some of it is really, really good!
University of North Texas
University of Connecticut
Not only do those who go to UConn have cafs at their disposal, but they also have the Food For Thought Food Truck, a year-round, well-priced, ridiculous-food-carrying extravaganza. This, for example ("Seasoned home fries, roasted peppers/onions, cheddar cheese, 2 fried eggs, bbq pork, coleslaw and bbq sauce drizzled on top! All that for just $5.99!"), was served as a breakfast item.
Where: Hartford, Connecticut
Yale University
"More than 40 percent of the ingredients used to prepare the 15,000 meals served at Yale every day are locally grown, organic, or both," their site explains. A lot of that comes straight from the Yale Farm, which was created as a part of their sustainable food program.
Where: New Haven, Connecticut
UC Berkeley
Another one that's been on "best college food" lists for years, UC Berkeley is a vegan- and vegetarian-friendly campus that also helps combat food insecurity in the surrounding areas.
Where: Berkeley, California
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin's food is so fantastic, it sparked a huge heated debate in 2016 about how colleges spend their money and how it relates to the acceptance rates of low-income students: "If you’re looking at liberal arts colleges, don’t go to Bowdoin," Malcolm Gladwell said at the time. "Don’t let your kids go to Bowdoin. Don’t let your friends go to Bowdoin. Don’t give money to Bowdoin or any other school that serves amazing food in its dining hall.”
Where: Brunswick, Maine
University of Washington
Local Point, one of the University's dining locations, features Tero, a "wellness café." It's got all sorts of Whole Foods-y-type goodness. There are also two Pagliacci Pizzas (a Seattle fav) on campus.
Where: Seattle, Washington
Harvard University
Harvard won this year's residential best dining concept for a large school from the National Association of College & Universities Food Services. Students love the wide variety of international cuisines offered daily.
Where: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Virginia Tech University
What most people point to when it comes to VT dining is the sheer amount of options. Seriously, read them all here. Anyway, here's a picture of a beautiful peanut butter cake made during a recent Virginia Tech Dining Services Peanut Day theme.
Where: Blacksburg, Virginia
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Probably worth hitting up all dining locations at UWisconsin for the dessert options alone. After all, the fudge bottom pie was invented there by legendary UW chef Carson Gulley back in the 1950s.
Where: Madison, Wisconsin
University of Southern California
USC is l-o-a-d-e-d with casual, Southern Californian cuisine options because ... well, duh. See this avo toast they serve every day for brunch at their on-campus gastropub-type place, for example.
Where: Los Angeles, California
Bates College
This teeny, tiny liberal arts school up in Maine is nothing if not festive. Seriously. A quick scroll through their Dining Services' pics shows not only does the food look great, but they also have a staff that's heavily invested in making all holidays the funnest they can possibly be.
Where: Lewiston, Maine
James Madison University
Honestly, JMU has to have the best fast food to student ratio in this country. In addition to their campus food, they've got Auntie Anne's, Carvel, Chick-fil-A, Dunkin, Subway, Quiznos, Starbucks, and MORE STARBUCKS.
Where: Harrisonburg, Virginia
University of Oregon
This university giant has recently been pushing health and nutrition awareness, offering Cooking 101 classes in their dining facilities with registered dietitians and such.
Where: Eugene, Oregon
Cornell University
Yet another school with a huge clean eating push underway. Yet another school whose not-clean options are so much better. Behold: the beloved Cornell hotdogs.
Where: Ithaca, New York
UCLA
Earlier this year, UCLA finished up an ongoing $9.1 million re-do of its dining hall, turning it into a clean-finished, sleek masterpiece. Many believe the heavily North European-influenced food waaaaaay improved, too.
Where: Los Angeles, California
Tulane University
The school's famous City Diner is open super late and is known for its famous 16-inch pancake, but you're in New Orleans. If you can't get what you want from one of the school's 25 dining locations, leave campus. YOU'LL BE FINE.
Where: New Orleans, Louisiana
Princeton University
The Ivy League, which sits smack in the middle of an excellent food town, is known for its Visiting Chefs program in which — wait for it — famous chefs visit and cook for the campus for a week.
Where: Princeton, New Jersey
Washington University
WashU dining services practically never sleep — they host up to five events per week across campus, meaning there's almost always delicious themed food around.
Where: St. Louis, Missouri
University of Pennsylvania
UPenn also recently wrapped up a massive on-campus dining reno ($15.5 million toward a new market). The new Mongolian grill station is a big hit.
Where: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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