Endless buffets, all-you-can-eat dessert bars and trays of greasy fries and burgers tend to pop into mind when you think of college cafeterias. However, many colleges are moving towards healthier and more delicious options for their students! Which schools take the cake (not literally) for healthy dining? Read on for a look at the organic, all-natural, vegetarian, vegan and downright diet-friendly worlds of the nation's ten healthiest dining halls.
1. Bowdoin College: Brunswick, ME
Students at Bowdoin enjoy the fact that their dining hall has been ranked by Collegeprowler.com as #1 in the nation. However, the dining hall's food doesn't just taste good, it's also healthy! The dining hall staff purchases most of its food from local sources, and much of the produce comes from the college's own organic garden. Students have access to fresh and healthy entrees like steamed zucchini, southwestern black bean and couscous salad, and a make-your-own sauté station. Daisy Alioto, a Bowdoin collegiette™, especially loves Bowdoin's healthy flatbread. "They make it with bleu cheese, onions, and apple, which may sound gross but it's amazing!" she says. She also enjoys Bowdoin's international food options and healthy soups.
2. Stephen F. Austin State University: Nacogdoches, TX
At Stephen F. Austin State University, students enjoy water flavored with fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs at the university's "Hydration Station". SFA also makes it easy to pick healthy meals in the cafeteria - the above logo is featured on meals chosen by the school's own registered dietitian, and students can even follow the dietitian on twitter for more advice on how to stay healthy and strong. According to Jessika Davidson, an SFA collegiette™, her university provides food for the fitness enthusiast in everyone. "My favorite healthy meal is the tofu stir-fry from the East College Cafeteria on campus," she says. "Pair that with the cucumber or lemon flavored water and enjoy a great meal!"
3. Oberlin College & Conservatory: Oberlin, OH
Oberlin College may be small, but their dining hall options are not! Oberlin students use an exhibition bar to select the healthy ingredients used for their pasta dishes, stir-fries, fajitas, pierogies and wraps. There is also a year-round fruit bar in their main dining hall, and a huge selection of vegetables at every meal. In Dascomb food court, a freshman dorm dining hall, students enjoy a special station for vegetarian comfort foods (think eggplant parm), an extensive salad bar and a grill with sandwiches made with antibiotic-free chicken. And apart from a variety of healthy meal options, Oberlin also achieved an A on the College Sustainability Report Card, meaning that they make a concerted effort to reduce their environmental footprint and use primarily locally grown produce. Sarah MacFadden, an Oberlin freshman, appreciates that most of the food produced in her dining hall is locally grown and harvested. "Not only does that make it healthier, but that also makes it more environmentally sustainable," she says. "My favorite meal is at the station called 'Global Exhibitions' where each day they prepare different kinds of healthy stir fry in front of you- it's delicious!"
4. St. Olaf College: Northfield, MN
The students at St. Olaf knew that their college's food would be good when they decided to attend - it's been ranked in the top ten in the nation by multiple websites including CollegeProwler. But this college's food doesn't just taste good - it's also healthy. Dining Services receives most of their produce from STOGROW, a student-run organic farm located near campus. They also get their dairy products from Deja Moo, a family-owned dairy company. St Olaf's cafeteria boasts eight lines of food, plus an extensive salad bar, soups, cereal and desserts. Vegetarian and vegan students enjoy their own line, which features things like couscous, falafel and organic grains. The daily dinner menu includes delicacies like red wine-braised beef, parmesan risotto, truffle green beans, albondigas with chipotle-tomato sauce, chicken pad thai and garlic black bean tofu. Hungry yet? Their cafeteria is also 100% sustainable, so it produces healthy food without hurting the environment!
5. Lewis & Clark College: Portland, OR
Lewis and Clark College's dining services makes it their mission to create food that is alive with flavor and nutrition, and it seems that the college has achieved its goal. All ingredients from the Lewis and Clark kitchen are organic and natural, and the university's Sustainability Council helps the dining hall focus on leaving a minimal environmental footprint. Students choose from daily entrees like 10-grain cereal, organic tofu scrambles, frisee salad sandwiches (with house-made honey-cured lardon, poached eggs and sherry vinaigrette served with toasted brie on a baguette) and ginger soy miso soup with arugula.
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And speaking as someone who lived on campus for 5 years, every time I gained the courage to attempt to stomach their meal-of-the-day entrees, I got sick. The selection was poor, the meal plan was way over-priced, and the hours sucked.