Gold Standard for Campus Dining

Serving 50,000 Meals Each Day, UMass Amherst Dining Wins Produce Business Most Innovative Dining Outlet Award.

Walk into any of the four dining commons on the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst campus, and you’ll find fresh produce on the menu.

There are bountifully stocked salad bars and made-to-order stir-fry stations where students can choose from a buffet of veggies to customize their meals. Vegetables, such as leafy greens, culinary herbs, tomatoes, bok choy, leeks, and, more recently, strawberries, grown in the UMass Amherst Hydrofarm adjacent to the Franklin Commons, are regularly incorporated into meals.

Produce is also at the heart of global cuisine selections, such as those from the tandoori Indian kitchen at the Worcester Dining Commons, as well as noodle bowls, hand-rolled sushi, pasta bars, authentic street food, Mediterranean fare, vegetarian options, and more, all featured on each of the commons’ menus.

That’s not all. The produce-rich, plant-forward approach, inspired by Ken Toong, associate vice chancellor of auxiliary enterprises, and his team, extends to the 12 eateries at the campus center, over 20 cafes, the University Club, retail concessions, two food trucks, and the university’s catering department, which collectively serve approximately 50,000 meals a day.

“Our vision is always healthy, sustainable and delicious,” says Toong, summarizing UMass Amherst Dining Services’ (UMassDS) mission to enhance the campus experience by providing healthy and flavorful locally and globally inspired meals, incorporating produce from local farms and value-added suppliers, while also prioritizing sustainability and environmental consciousness.

Eighty-two percent of students told us they will continue their dining habits after graduation. That is a powerful inspiration for us to be able to help students create healthy, sustainable, delicious eating behaviors that can impact them for the rest of their lives.

— Ken Toong, associate vice chancellor of auxiliary enterprises, University of Massachusetts Amherst

It’s no wonder that UMassDS has earned the coveted No. 1 spot on The Princeton Review’s list of Best Campus Food for an unsurpassed eighth consecutive year. Consider that in fiscal year 2024/2025, annual per-student produce consumption reached 215 pounds, compared to the average U.S. consumption of 150 pounds per person annually, and it’s easy to see why UMassDS has also been named the Most Innovative Dining Outlet for 2025 by Produce Business magazine.

“Data over the last decade shows the consumption trend is to eat more produce and plant foods and less meat, especially among Gen Z,” says Toong. “Today, some 80% of ingredients on our menus are plant-based, and we’ve reduced portion sizes of protein like red meat, poultry or seafood to 2 to 3 ounces. Nobody has complained.”

Student menu input and close collaboration with the local and global produce industry are a few of the ways the university’s exceptional foodservice operation has become a key recruiting tool for the university. Three-fourths of students who choose UMass say food is a very important factor, up from 72% two years ago, according to Toong, who started at UMass in 1998.

STUDENT INPUT DRIVES MENUS

Over one-third (36%) of UMass Amherst’s 31,000-plus undergraduate students identify as African American, Latino/a, Asian/Pacific Islander and Native American (ALANA) ethnicity, and nearly one-quarter (21%) are first-generation students. Similarly, a quarter (24%) of the over 1,900 faculty represent ALANA demographics.

“Our plant-forward approach has become even more culturally driven over the last two to three years,” says Toong. “About half of our international students are from India, and the other half are from Vietnam and China. We also have students from Thailand, Japan and Korea. On any given day, we are serving 15 world cuisines in our dining facilities, whether it be on the three-week cycle menu or as specials.”

The UMassDS team makes a point to work with all student groups representing various countries.

“For example, our Indonesian Student Association asked for certain classic Indonesian dishes for their events,” says Christopher Howland, chief procurement officer and senior director of procurement and strategy. “If we are familiar with their cuisines, we take the lead and prepare dishes, such as Gado-Gado, which is an Indonesian vegetable salad with peanut sauce. However, if we are not familiar with their cuisines, we work with the students to build a recipe and have them teach us how to prepare the recipe, so the flavors stay true to their culture.”

It’s a formula that satisfies the taste preferences of over half of the students who hail from the state of Massachusetts.

“The way kids are raised these days, they’re eating global cuisines in their homes from a young age. You’d be amazed at how many U.S. students are getting a stir-fry or street food at the world cuisine stations, while students from China, for example, are lining up for pizza and pasta,” says Robert “Bob” Bankert, executive chef of residential dining and chef de cuisine.

BUYING, SERVING LOCAL & BEYOND

Summer is the peak harvest for fruits and vegetables in New England, a time when students aren’t on campus. This hasn’t stopped the UMassDS team from sourcing as much local produce as possible during the fall to spring months, growing from a limited quantity of root veggies 26 years ago to nearly 30% of its produce purchases from local farmers.

The university defines “local” as within a 250-mile radius of campus, giving priority to produce grown in Massachusetts.

“I like to split our year into three sections for utilizing local produce,” says Howland. “In the fall, menus are full of summer vegetables, as they are still in peak season locally. This includes tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, eggplant and peppers, among others. By late October, after the first frost, we switch some of our menu items to utilize hearty greens and vegetables, like kale, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, carrots and daikon radishes, and start to incorporate local squashes and sweet potatoes.”

Once in full winter mode, they add more winter squashes, potatoes and root vegetables, and they scale back on fall greens. “Once spring starts, we will continue to use as many storage crops as possible, but will start to incorporate more green vegetables back into our menus.”

On the fruit front, UMassDS hosts its Apple Week each fall. There are apple-inspired menu choices, and a dozen-plus varieties of Eastern apples are available daily in all the dining commons for tasting. Each is signed with highlights of the grower. Local apples are also served daily for most of the year, usually lasting until April.

UMassDS has its own warehouse and cold storage facilities on campus. Produce is delivered here, with local farmers assigned their own unloading dock, as well as directly to the dining commons.

With the goal of purchasing 30% of locally sourced produce from area farms, the university has partnered with Joe Czajkowski, a third-generation vegetable farmer in Hadley, MA, for over two decades. What Czajkowski doesn’t grow on his 420 acres, 100 of these farmed organically, he sources from other area farms in the Pioneer Valley.

“We sit down with the UMass chefs, go over the menu, and choose the varieties they would like,” says Czajkowski, who owns Joe Czajkowski Farm and Lakeside Organic. “Then, from August to October, I email them a list of up to 30 fruits and vegetables in season. In the spring, Hadley asparagus harvests just before commencement, and they’ll buy up to 1,000-plus pounds or more. We also add value to products for them by processing peeled and chopped butternut squash and carrot and zucchini sticks.”

UMassDS’s purchase of hydroponic greens has soared due to freshness and quality, according to the dining services team. Little Leaf Farms, headquartered in Devens, MA, with a total of 40 acres of baby greens grown in Devens, MA, and McAdoo, PA, is a major supplier. The university began buying from Little Leaf during the pandemic and established a solid supply chain.

UMassDS is large enough to negotiate its own supply chain deals independently, allowing it the freedom to adjust menus within a day to take advantage of seasonal availability. However, they do partner with FreshPoint, one of North America’s largest produce distributors, which has a distribution facility 70 miles to the east in Hartford, CT, for items not available locally, such as oranges and pineapples.

ASSISTANCE FROM COMMODITY BOARDS & COMPANIES

Produce commodity boards and companies that UMassDS has partnered with on special events include the National Watermelon Board, the National Mango Board, The Wonderful Company, the National Peanut Board and the California Walnut Board and Commission.

“We like to work with commodity boards because they can do the marketing and promotion, and they are experts in the produce they represent,” says Toong. “For example, students love slices of watermelon, but most hadn’t tried pickled watermelon rind. We started using mango as fresh slices and then incorporated it into our sushi program.”

“The boards are so easy to work with,” Toong adds. “I wish all our peers could realize that they’re here to help promote the product and also to help us innovate and make fresh produce more fun for our customers.”

Watermelon plays a creative role in UMassDS’s offerings, according to Megan McKenna, senior director of marketing and foodservice for the National Watermelon Promotion Board, in Winter Springs, FL. “Recipes like Jamaican Shrimp Taco with Watermelon Salsa, Mango & Watermelon Salad, and Slushy Coconut Watermelon, made with frozen watermelon, coconut milk and honey, showcase how they’ve woven watermelon into savory and globally inspired dishes.”

Jason Hernandez, consulting chef for the National Mango Board in Orlando, FL, says the UMassDS culinary team has not only embraced fresh mango across its menu matrix, but also understands how to bring it to students in meaningful and memorable ways.

“One standout concept was a Thai Mango Noodle Salad featuring shredded mango pickles, mango-peanut dressing, and crunchy toppings — crafted to highlight both technique and global flavor integration. These types of applications are amplified through targeted activations, such as pop-ups and takeover events. Our joint marketing efforts bring these concepts to life across social platforms, reinforcing brand affinity and increasing student awareness,” he says.

Staff from Wonderful Citrus, in Delano, CA, and part of the Los Angeles, CA-headquartered The Wonderful Company, connected with Toong at an industry event, where he mentioned how much he enjoyed Wonderful Halos mandarins and expressed interest in bringing them to campus. The company developed a relationship with UMass’ produce distributor, FreshPoint Connecticut, to make it happen. Since then, Wonderful has successfully supplied hundreds of boxes of Halos to both the dining halls and on-campus markets.

“Each April, we partner with UMass Dining to host ‘Wonderful Day’ cook-off, an annual campus-wide culinary competition that takes place in the dining halls,” says Nancy Johnson, senior director of foodservice business development and sales. “For this event, each dining hall team is challenged to create a menu featuring Wonderful Pistachios and Wonderful Halos, highlighting their creativity and culinary skills. The meals are judged by both a panel and the student body, creating an engaging and interactive experience.”

Johnson says this year, more than 1,100 students participated by tasting and voting for their favorite dishes, making it one of the most well-attended supplier collaborations of the academic year.

A special “Peanut Day” menu in April in the Berkshire Dining Commons featured dishes, such as Paneer Curry with Peanuts & Aloo Mutter with Roasted Peanut Butter, Shrimp Tostadas with Peanut Mole, Lemongrass Pork Chops with Peanut Sauce, Crispy Tofu with Sambal Peanut Dressing and Peanut Acai Cups.

“While UMass has long had robust training and sourcing protocols in place, we brought added value through student-focused engagement and marketing support,” says Lauren Highfill Williams, communications director for the National Peanut Board (NPB), in Atlanta, GA.

For example, the NPB co-hosted a high-impact peanut promotion event that featured interactive student activities.

Williams says UMass executive sous chef, Caleb Pham, co-led a culinary demo with a Mississippi peanut farmer and NPB board member, giving students a firsthand look at the peanut’s versatility and origin.

California Walnut Board and Commission staff connected with UMass director of culinary excellence, Chef Alexander Ong, at the International Fresh Produce Association’s (IFPA) Consumer Connection Conference. In the fall of 2023, the board launched a one-year campaign to promote California walnuts to the nearly 25,000 students enrolled in university meal plans.

During a November 2023 event, over 5,000 students engaged with California walnuts through Harvest Market tabling events and a dinner featuring a cooking demonstration at Worcester Dining Commons. Dishes on the menu included an Oyster Mushroom Milanese Sandwich with Tomato-Walnut Pesto, Walnut and Lentil Plant-Based “Meatballs” with Roasted Spicy Eggplant Purée and Coconut Yogurt, and Roasted Butternut Squash and Walnut Soup.

In a survey of 288 students conducted after the event, more than 58% expressed interest in adding the walnut dishes to the regular menu; over 86% said the recipes made them consider using walnuts in ways they hadn’t before; and 93% stated that the dishes would increase their likelihood of ordering menu items with walnuts.

“As a result of student demand, UMass added packaged walnut products to campus retail stores for anytime access and incorporated walnut-focused recipes into dining hall menus,” says Jennifer Olmstead, senior director of U.S. marketing and communications for the California Walnut Board and Commission, Folsom, CA.

GOING ABOVE & BEYOND

Sustainability, a guest chef program, and an annual culinary conference are just a few additional points that earn UMassDS the Most Innovative Dining Outlet for 2025 award.

In the fall of 2022, UMassDS was the first university dining program to launch a Carbon Rating System on its four dining commons menus in partnership with My Emissions.

This stemmed from a survey of over 800 students the previous year, with three-quarters wanting to reduce their food-related carbon footprint. The rating is determined by a food’s farming methods, processing and production, transportation distances and packaging impact. The result is creatively using more low-carbon plant-based foods, such as tofu, nuts, vegetables and legumes, and less of high-carbon ingredients, including beef, lamb, cheese and chocolate.

The guest chef program also increases fresh produce visibility.

“Guest chefs bring in traditional or a Californian-influenced style of cooking to our students in the dining commons, who mostly have not had much experience with foods from these regions. For example, Chef Hoss Zare (a San Francisco-based chef known for his Iranian cuisine) made an onion petal stuffed with rice pilaf. It is simple yet elegant,” says Ong.

Each June, UMassDS hosts its Chefs Culinary Conference. This year’s weeklong event featured acclaimed chefs, including Alice Waters, who founded Chez Panisse in Berkeley and originated California Cuisine; Dan Barber, owner of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, co-founder of Row 7 Seed Company and advocate for sustainable agriculture and ethical eating; and Jessica Harris, who has authored a dozen cookbooks.

“Eighty-two percent of students told us they will continue their dining habits after graduation,” says Toong. “That is a powerful inspiration for us to be able to help students create healthy, sustainable, delicious eating behaviors that can impact them for the rest of their lives.” 

• • •

Three Tips for Produce Companies to Sell to University and College Dining

Many produce companies are retail-focused on marketing their fruits and vegetables. University and college dining is a distinct entity. Helping its local and global produce companies bridge this gap and dialing in what this foodservice sector needs is something UMass Amherst Dining Services’ (UMassDS) has helped to educate its vendors.

Alexander Ong, UMassDS’ director of culinary excellence, offers three top tips:

1. LOCAL HAS GREATER IMPACT THAN ORGANIC

The team excels at creating meaningful connections between local farmers and the students. While organic remains relevant, it lacks the immediacy and relatability that local sourcing offers. A certified organic item may travel thousands of miles, while locally grown products foster a tangible, regional connection.

2. LEVERAGE THE POWER OF STORYTELLING

Every supplier — large or small — has a story worth telling. Unfortunately, while national growers often receive media attention in trade publications, those stories rarely reach the end users in college and university dining programs. Students are increasingly curious about the origin of their food and value transparency.

“We’ve found that sharing farm stories, especially those rooted in family entrepreneurship, drives stronger engagement,” Ong says. “There’s a clear opportunity for producers to enhance their outreach to the higher education market by communicating their values, history, and impact more effectively.”

3. NATIONAL BRANDS MUST PRIORITIZE PRODUCE STORYTELLING

Despite the prominence of national brands in consumer goods, branded produce often lacks similar visibility in campus dining environments.

“At UMass, we’re proactively working with national brands and commodity boards to bring their stories forward — connecting students to the people and processes behind the food. These organizations have the tools and resources to craft compelling narratives; it’s a missed opportunity not to utilize them.”

• • •

UMass Dining Services’ 12 Top Fruits & Vegetables Used by Volume to Produce 50,000 Meals Daily

Produce Pounds

1. Bananas, Fair Trade 110,600
2. Cucumbers 108,950
3. Apples, Farm Local 103,620
4. Broccoli Florets, 6/3 pound 99,414
5. Banana, Organic 88,440
6. Seedless Watermelon, Case 84,205
7. Red Potato, Diced 76,940
8. Avocados, Ripe 75,330
9. Red Peppers 63,130
10. Onions, Yellow Jumbo 59,400
11. Zucchini Squash, Medium 58,200
12. Potatoes, Chef Local 54,250

Credit: UMass Dining Services