Super interesting article about award winning dining at U Mass Amherst.
Do you have a gift link?
I’ve had it. It is really, really good. Far better than the more expensive food at UVA (ghastly). There is a reason most students stay on a dining plan even after they move off campus.
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Obvious question. Why dont other schools offer better food?
I thought i shared the gift link in my post. Is it not unlocked?
I realized it’s not a paywall. They need you to sign in or create a free account. I guess it’s free after that. No worries! Thank you.
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Mainly due to cost, I suppose.
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Isnt UMass Amherst fairly inexpensive?
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I toured Bowdoin recently and our tour guide there mentioned that UMass Amherst had the best college food in the country.
Bowdoin was second.
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It is about $35k (all in) for in-state students which is fairly typical for public flagships in the northeast. My son attends UVA and its in-state cost is more (I think $40kish but we’re OOS so I’m not 100% on that) yet their food is absolutely abysmal. My son lost 15 lbs his first year because the food was so sub par (and not just that but often undercooked etc). UVA’s meal plan is about $1k less per year than the one at UMass but I would have gladly spent the extra $$ to have good food for my son.
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Have eaten there twice and both times were excellent. Far better than any other campus food we have tried during our tours (inc. the #2 Bowdoin 
) They have a sushi station where the rolls are made to order as you wait. There is a Chinese street food area with really good congee, dim sum, bamboo leaf wrapped rice dumplings, etc. There is a whole Mexican area. In addition to all the regular campus foods like chicken, burgers, pizza, etc. The chocolate milk station where they use milk from local farms in addition to a very good soft serve area. This was just one of the multiple dining halls I believe they also have an amazing policy where family members eat free with their student any time of the year.
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UMASS’s dining service is run in-house (as is Bowdoin’s), while most universities that people complain about the most (UVA, UVM) hire vendors.
I think the food at certain universities (UMASS, VT) has become a big selling point, so they are willing to invest a bit more rather than view it as a place where they can perhaps cut corners. While other schools keep jumping to the vendor (Sodexo, Aramark) that gives them the best price, the price is lower because they are cutting costs, the kids complain, they keep trying to improve, wash, rinse and repeat. I’ve had to deal with this on a smaller scale as a School Committee member. Our food was MUCH better when it was done in-house.
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I didn’t eat at dining hall but during tour the guide talked up the fake chipotle place in the student center and it was gross
Interesting, I haven’t eaten there, but everyone I know who HAS eaten at UMass (many parents) has said it was very, very good, at least for a mass-produced food! I wonder if you hit it on a bad day?
We toured with one kid, and the tour guide didn’t exactly freak out about how good it was, but did say there is ALWAYS a ton of options and ALWAYS a ton of takeaway, and it is always fresh and available - I think many of us can say that isn’t always true at all schools, even.
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