They had to. The food was close to horrible. I believe one of the primary reasons students, including my D, moved to the on-campus apartments/townhouses their Jr. year was because they were able cook their own meals.
Bowdoin’s food is wonderful and is fresh. They also have favorite recipes posted on their website.
This is great! Thanks for the terrific suggestions. Any more?
“Carleton, Colorado College, Emory, WUSTL, St. Olaf and Macalaster are all Bon Appetit and known for good food, that I can either vouch for first hand or through family members.”
I had lunch at St. Olaf less than two weeks ago. There was a German special: sauerbraten with gingersnap gravy, mashed potatoes, red cabbage, and black forest cake. Best college meal of the year!
I’m at 33 visits in 7 states for the year. I was able to eat in the dining hall at less than half of them. I have a trip to Texas coming up next month, so I may be able to add two or three more.
Occidental College in Pasadena has fantastic food! We are in similar situation as OP, so food quality is a big concern. Loyola Marymount is D’s top choice but the food was horrible when we were there for the campus tour. It’s a Sodexo School, and absolutely dreadful.
Bates does not contract out its food services. I don’t believe Bowdoin does either. Both schools consistently earn high ratings for their food quality.
At Bates the chefs who cook the food also serve it so they get to personally see what the students do and don’t like and they can communicate directly with them about the food. You can contact the school’s Director of Dining to see if they would be able to support your daughter’s needs.
Bates has it’s own food service. They use a lot of locally sourced foods. I have eaten there a number of times and the food is excellent.
Aramark has not been good for my school, but I have heard that they are really good at boston college
I’ve had great meals at “Sodexo schools” - touring in 2012 with my S.
Again, schools have different levels of service with dining providers. And @prodesse is not looking for “good food”, it’s
So fresh baked bread, farm-raised potatoes and the best pasta/fresh pizza bar and waffle station isn’t going to help here. It’s not clear if lots of gluten free products helps either, since often that is still processed and includes grains.
I’m guessing the kid eats a lot of veggies, fruits, meats, and seafood. You know, the diet we all try to eat 
Hamilton also has a community farm - http://students.hamilton.edu/communityfarm
Not super selective but UMass Amherst https://www.umass.edu/gateway/food. Also, I’ve heard good things about Virginia Tech’s food
My D likes the food at the Claremont Colleges.
@OHMomof2 You are correct, lots of meat, fish, nuts, aged cheese, vegetables, and fruit! Very healthy.
Gluten-free products that contain other starches such as corn, rice, tapioca, etc., are out. We use almond flour a lot at home.
Thank goodness dining halls are mostly far better than they used to be.
@Marcie123 The Claremonts are high on our list for this as well as other reasons. I gather students can eat at any of their dining halls, which aren’t run by the same companies, is that correct?
Bon Appetit magazine named College of the Holy Cross as one of the 7 healthiest dining halls in the country. Was one of the first to have a dedicated allergy kitchen and community garden, and is very serious about sustainability efforts.
@prodesse, as she looks at schools your daughter may want to consider how each school’s dining plan is structured. At a school with a single dining hall where everyone eats together there might be fewer options for her diet than at a school with many varied dining halls, but on the other hand, it’s more likely that she will always have a couple of options in that single dining hall.
For instance, a school might have a low-starch, whole food cafe, and the could be wonderful, but if all her friends eat lunch every day at the pizza and pasta cafe your daughter may have to make a choice between eating with her friends and eating more than the same old green salad.
If your daughter likes to cook a school without a required dining plan, or with only a minimal one, might work out well. If she’s not someone who enjoys cooking not being on a dining plan could lead to poor eating.
Just something to think about…
@prodesse yes, students at the Claremonts can eat at any of the dining halls. D eats on all campuses regularly, except CMC. I’m not sure if they are run by the same company or different ones.
I’ve eaten at Scripps and Pitzer which is where she eats most of her meals. Plenty of fresh options. She loves the smoothies at Harvey Mudd because you choose which fruits and juices to put in. And she eats a handtossed salad almost every day for lunch at Scripps.
I attended La Salle University for freshman year, & they used Aramark. An alumni told my tour group that they use the “cheapest plan”, which is also used in some prisons.
It was absolutely terrible. They had a fried food section, which would occasionally have something good. The pizza was disgusting. The pasta section was sometimes decent, but would be over-garliced (I’m Italian) & gave small serving sizes. There was a salad bar, but the vegetables were pretty low quality…so, basically no healthy options.
Vassar overhauled their dining hall and food service this past summer, and is now using Bon Appetit. The improvement is astonishing in every way. The hours and menu choices are extended, the facilities are lovely, the food is vastly improved, and access has been simplified. This is a little ironic considering that Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast on the subject admonished listeners to choose Vassar - where food service was not prioritized.