UMASS DINING RANKED NUMBER ONE IN THE NATION FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR

For the fourth straight year, the University of Massachusetts Amherst ranks number one for best campus food in the nation. The honor was revealed on August 5, by The Princeton Review as part of its ranking of the top twenty colleges in 62 different categories for 2020.

“We chose the 385 colleges for this edition as our best overall, academically, based on data we gathered in 2018-19 from more than a thousand school administrators about their schools’ academic programs and offerings,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief in a written statement. “We tally our lists using data we gather directly from students attending these colleges. Our survey asks the students about their professors, administrators, school services, campus culture and other facets of life at their schools.”

Ken Toong, executive director of Auxiliary Enterprises at UMass Amherst, observed, “Wow, four years in a row! We’re truly blessed and honored. 

UMass Dining is the largest collegiate dining program in America and is a recognized leader among college dining programs because of its focus on quality ingredients and meals, customer service, student health and wellness, customization options, an appreciation of global influences and modern eating trends, and creating community on campus. Their mission is supporting and improving the student experience at UMass Amherst.

UMass Dining serves over 8 million meals per year. Locally sourced food plays a major component in its success. It has relationships with more than 100 local farms, spending $2.4 million annually with Massachusetts farmers and vendors and a total of $5 million in New England.
Rankings of the top 20 schools in 62 categories were posted online on Monday and will be included in the company’s 2020 edition of “The Best 385 Colleges.” The rankings are based on surveys of 140,000 students at the schools in the guide.