Ken Toong Receives College & University Food Services’ Highest Honor

Ken Toong, assistant vice chancellor of auxiliary enterprises at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has received the highest honor awarded by the National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS), the Theodore W. Minah Distinguished Service Award. The recognition was presented during a special reception at the NACUFS 2026 National Conference in New Orleans, LA.

Toong was recognized for nearly three decades of visionary leadership at UMass Amherst and across the campus dining sector. Under his leadership, UMass Dining has earned nine consecutive No. 1 rankings for Best Campus Food from The Princeton Review and has become one of the nation’s most recognized collegiate dining programs.

Throughout his career, Toong has championed healthy, sustainable, delicious and experiential dining through his “Food for the Common Good” philosophy. He is the founder of the Tastes of the World Chef Culinary Conference, now in its 32nd year, and has helped shape collegiate dining nationally through decades of innovation, collaboration and mentorship.

A past chair of the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA), Toong was a 2013 recipient of the IFMA Silver Plate Award, was named a White House Campus Champion of Change, and most recently received the inaugural Excellence in College Dining Award from the Mediterranean Diet Roundtable. He holds an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Acadia University in Canada.