Our Mission and Values

To provide our students an exceptional dining experience with a commitment that is fresh, sustainable, and real.

A pair of hands washing yellow squash

Freshness

Amherst's own Book & Plow Farm supplies a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, including carrots, onions, summer squash, kale, mustard greens, tomatoes, and bok choi, herbs and more.

A group of students in a greenhouse examining a large table of seedlings

Sustainability

Sustainable dining is at the heart of evereything we do. We divert 54 tons of food waste per year and we've eliminated the use of 20,000 plastic bottles per year. We also give unserved meals to local shelters.

A chef holding a large bowl of food

Real Food

ACNutrition is our online tool that helps you identify well-balanced meals, learn the nutritional value of your food and find options for specific diets, such as vegetarian or vegan.

Welcome to our table

We are delighted to host students, families, friends, faculty, staff and our wider community in all of our locations across campus. We offer a wide variety of dining options at Valentine Dining Hall in an effort to meet the needs of our diverse community. Additionally, Schwemm’s offers Grab & Go for Lunch and a late night dining option, while our retial locations in Frost Library, The Science Center and Keefe are designed to deliver a variety of coffee, tea and snacks in those locations. Our Catering team successfully delivers over 1,400 events annually across campus both large and small. In all these areas we provide a variety of options to address special diets with a strong emphasis on accurate labeling so our guests can make informed choices.

Each guest we serve allows us an opportunity to build community, create connections and share the fine culinary creations from our kitchen. It is our goal to deliver great food one plate at a time, while honoring our commitment to locally produced, sustainable and high quality food.

We invite you to enjoy great food, thoughtfully procured and prepared in all our locations.

Sincerely,

Joe Flueckiger
Executive Director of Dining and Hospitality Services