Eating at UMass Amherst

Forget the jokes about college food: UMass Amherst has decent dining. Four dining commons across campus offer traditional cuisine, vegan, vegetarian, and low-carb options, and a Kosher meal plan. We may be the only university campus to serve Dim Sum on the weekends, and every Halloween, our chefs celebrate with fresh lobster.

University Food Services tries to accommodate the schedules and the lifestyles of students by offering Grab-n-Go, Meals to Go, convenience stores, C-stores and snack bars, extended hours, and study hall hours at certain locations. Our dietitian is available by e-mail, telephone or a personal appointment to discuss special dietary concerns or needs.

Dining Services’ Innovative Programs:

Breakfast on the Run
Grab-n-Go Lunch
Dim Sum Sunday Brunch
Make Your Own Stir Crazy
Gifts from Home

Tasty Dining Hall Choices:

Salad bar
Deli bar
Pizza station
Dim Sum brunch
Pasta station
On the grill
Cook to order
BBQ
Sushi bar
Noodle bowl
Potato bar
International station
Tamales
Ice cream
Desserts

Dining Services Special Events:

Welcome, Homecoming, and Spring Fling BBQs
Local Harvest
Halloween Special
Winter Wonderland
Restaurant Night
Steak and Lobster Night
Taste of UMass
Student Iron Chef Competition
Midnight Buffet

Eating Out

When you’re looking for a change of pace, you’ll be able to use a meal exchange, up to a certain dollar value, at the retail food outlets on campus (Bluewall, Hatch Food Court, Starbucks Coffee Cart, MarketPlace Café, Whitmore, Worcester, and Hampden Cafés).

You can always head into downtown Amherst (walk) or Northampton (free bus ride), and eat out at one of many, many restaurants: Italian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Mexican, deli, “breakfast all day” or basic burger and fries—you’ll find whatever you’re craving. With over 25,000 students in this Five Colleges area, you know there must be plenty of good food to be found.

Off-Campus Students

Students who don’t live in the residence halls can also eat on campus with Dining Services’ “Your Campus Meal Plan.” With this option, you can eat at one of the four main dining halls as well as Hillel’s kosher kitchen. As with the regular meal plan, YCMP allows you to eat at any retail food outlets on campus (Whitmore, Hampden or Physical Plant Snack Bars, the Coffee Cart, Blue Wall, Hatch, and Marketplace Cafe) up to a certain dollar amount.