As a passionate food enthusiast, I’m very curious about how food works at boarding schools. First, is the food good? And, are there alternative options (besides DoorDash, Uber, etc.) on campus for students to choose from? Are you allowed to take out from the dining hall (Are there takeout containers?) and choose where you would like to eat, or is it strictly in the dining hall? ( lunch-wise) Finally, are students able to make their own food, and how? I am very curious about the food aspect of boarding school…
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Oh goodness. It really depends on the school. Do you have one or two schools in particular you are curious about?
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Well, I applied to TSAO schools, so particularly those, but general boarding dining hall/food culture might also help me understand how it works!
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This will vary from school to school. It would be a good question to ask on a visit.
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You will be able to find some information on the websites or instagram (even daily menus) - you can see if they have just a dining hall or other quick, casual options with certain hours. It is unlikely they want you to take food to go for several reasons including they encourage community meals. You probably can and should keep food in your room for snacks, but there will be scheduled gatherings with food in the dorms, etc. The kitchen situation will vary as well, and some schools allow mini fridges in the rooms and some do not. Good luck!
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This in fact was a major topic for us as parents on visits. Our daughter was more focused on the life of mind and activities stuff, but we were all about the basic sleeping/eating stuff.
Standard question for Team NUM, in fact, although often it was covered by our tour guide when we visited a dorm room.
I had already done my visits back in December, and when I asked, most of the answers were, sadly, pretty vague, and didn’t really give me a good idea of what it was actually like
Thank you so much! That makes sense, most of the schools don’t allow any larger personal furniture in the dorms, but some of the schools did have stir fry bars, while others didn’t, so I’m very curious to know if there are chances to cook your own meals besides that.
Yeah, that makes sense. I am super interested in the activites and school community as well, but my current school, a private day school, has sucky food and I would really like to know what the food is like from the POV of the students who attend or their parents so that I can understand it better. Most of the tour guides do say that the food is good, but its hard to tell if they’re only saying that because they’re tour guides…
You could search individual school dining social accounts.
Andover:
St George’s:
Also, different schools have different policies regarding Door Dash/Uber Eats
Both my kids always had snacks in their rooms, whether purchased from local grocer or from Amazon.
Cooking in dorm was dorm dependent for both kids but if it was allowed, it was a common kitchen.
Rules regarding in-room refrigeration vary by school.
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It really depends on the school, but most expect students to eat together in the dining hall and don’t love to go meals. Usually you can keep snacks in your room and if cooking is allowed, it tends to happen in a shared dorm kitchen rather than in your room, so checking each school’s dining Instagram and DoorDash rules can give you a more realistic picture.
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Thank you so much! The Dining accounts helped a lot!
That makes sense. So most of it is specific to each school, then?
If I remember correctly from the tour, dorms at St. Paul’s had full kitchens as part of the common room, as opposed to a sink, fridge, and a kettle for ramen. (And I do hope you like ramen!) Can anyone verify that? I remember thinking that would be awesome for kids who like to bake.
Some schools publish the full menu for the week. Good for planning and perusing options?
My child is permanently hungry due to growth and sports. There seems to be plenty of unlimited, tasty food at the dining hall and on campus grill. There are always tons of options, and a full salad bar in addition to what is listed. You can always make a sandwich to take away after a full meal. At home we call this second dinner. A fridge would be great, but it is not allowed in the room. We send lots of snacks, despite my dislike of processed food. There is a common fridge in the common room. Things have been known to disappear there on occasion, and we hear this is true at many schools. Bummer. And someone I know will be getting a summer job to cover a developing DoorDash habit.
One thing that my kid notices is never ending chicken. All boarding schools seem to serve quite a bit of it.
If you have specific medical or religious preferences/needs, I would recommend reaching out to the schools individually. Schools will waive the fridge restriction for a medical need.
The dining staff works unbelievably hard to provide a great experience for the students. Wherever you land, be sure to thank them!!
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I do like ramen! (one of the reasons I wanted to know about cooking/food restrictions in the dorms 
) The sandwich thing sounds amazing! I tend to get hungry after dinner, so I was a little worried about the food situation, but sounds like all boarding schools have something for you more or less regarding snacks and other foods! Thank You!
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