Dining and Sustainability
7.4 million
meals per year
21.5 tons
of produce harvested per year at Homefield Farm
37 tons
of carved london broil per year at West End Market
2,200
people employed on campus
Truly, everything tastes amazing. Forget all those preconceived notions of nasty cafeteria food. You won’t miss homecookin’ here. (Maybe you will a little bit. But that’s what breaks are for!)
With 46 venues in 10 locations plus two food trucks, our dining program is consistently ranked among the top in the nation in food, facilities, and services by national polls.
We’re big fans of students.
We champion student voices and listen to their feedback through our Student Advisory Committee.
Food allergy?
That doesn’t intimidate our dining staff! You’ll be super impressed by all our options for students with special diets.
Want to eat healthy?
All our menus are online, backed by their nutritional information. Check out these FAQs to learn more.
Two administrative dietitians are on staff if you need assistance for special dietary needs. Shoot them an email at yes@vt.edu.
Over 120 tons
of produce, to date, from Homefield Farm
Over 5,500 tons
of organic waste sent from our dining facilities to be composted since 2009
566 tons of waste
diverted and composted in 2019
Single-stream recycling since
2015
Virginia Tech is committed to sustainable practices.
Our Office of Sustainability works to educate the Virginia Tech community about how to live a more sustainable and low-impact lifestyle through behavior change and an understanding of the impacts one’s personal actions can have on a global scale. Creating positive change requires the input and cooperation of the entire university community—and we invite all new Hokies to join our efforts!
- Reusable To-Go containers are available to all students on campus. These containers will help you save money and reduce waste when you take your food on-the-go. The program is a collaboration between Dining Services, Undergraduate Student Senate, the Office of Sustainability, and Housing Services.
- Homefield Farm is a unique collaboration between the Department of Horticulture and Dining Services. You can get involved by taking the Sustainable Agriculture Practicum (HORT 2834) class, which provides hands-on sustainable agriculture experience on the farm.
- In collaboration with Dining Services, volunteers with The Campus Kitchen at Virginia Tech divert food to people in need across the New River Valley.
- Getting ready for life in the residence halls? Ditch the bottled water and paper plates and opt for reusable items. You can save money and the environment!
- YTOSS, coordinated by the YMCA at Virginia Tech, is one of VT’s largest sustainability initiatives. When you move out in the spring, you can donate gently used items that you no longer want, thus helping reduce landfill waste. In the fall, new students can buy these items for a great price!
- Did you know that recycling is supported in all academic buildings, residence halls, dining facilities, athletic facilities, student services buildings, administrative buildings, and outside on the campus grounds? That’s right—it’s easy to recycle and be a green Hokie! Just look for the blue containers!
- Don’t know what to do with your batteries, electronics, or even textbooks? Recycle them!
Our free reusable to-go container program has kept more than 2,000 pounds of packaging waste out of the landfill, with 200,000 meals served in reusable to-go containers to date.
Join Our Cause
There are a variety of sustainability programs and events across the university. From Earth Week and Turn Down for Watt to our Student Sustainability Internship Program, our goal is to make sustainability at Virginia Tech an active community value. We hope you’ll join us!