Student Reviews

• Dana

  AU is definitely one of the better schools I ate at as a vegan looking at colleges. Its not ideal, considering the food quality at TDR is not the BEST in general. My biggest qualm is that only about half of the food options are labeled with vegan, vegetarian, etc. symbols while the other half have a different type of label that has NO allergen info. This is frustrating because things seems vegetarian or vegan, but students don’t know so they avoid food that they might be able to eat. Theres usually a few hot options like veggies/grains/beans on the hot section, plus theres a pretty decent salad bar, sometimes vegan soups, almost always plain pasta with marinara, fruit, sometimes options at a ‘cultural food station’, french fries and sometimes vegan veggies burgers, plus vegan milk and cereal, and saute and sandwich stations that you can choose your ingredients at. Other dining options for veg people include Freshii, Global Fresh, and Elevation burger that all have vegan options that can be purchased with a meal swipe. Theres plenty off campus since were in D.C. and compared to other schools, its manageable. I am sometimes frustrated with the options but I feel like for the most part I can’t complain. Plus all freshman dorms have kitchens so theres always the option to cook!

• Meaghan

  AU is one of the most advanced dining programs that I have seen. Anywhere you go, you will find students that might not like their dining facility, but almost every student here has something good to say. The dining hall is newly renovated and offers a variety off different foods every day. They are one of the most sustainable dining facilities in the US as a portion of their food is sourced locally and they strive to reduce food waste. Everything is labelled so you can easily follow a vegan/vegetarian diet. They even are getting an all vegan dining area this year. The staff is amazing and is willing to work with you with any dietary needs you have, especially the RD. AU has a very vegan friendly facility and it is the obvious choice for vegan students.

• Ali Epstein

  Before I started at AU I ate pretty healthy I thought. But, now entering my sophomore year, I’ve realized that I even though I live a healthy lifestyle, I can live an even better one, that also helps the environment. The RD on campus and the Vegetarian and Vegan locations on campus has made my transition to being a vegetarian a lot easier. It is a great community with multiple options for me on the meal plan! It is nice to also have vegetarian options at local walking distant chains like Cava, Chioplte, and Nandos. I greatly enjoy the food AU offers, and love the buffet-style TDR. If you are vegan or vegetarian, AU is the school for you!

• Jo-Ann

  Great food!

• Lauren Soanes

  TDR, the absolute worst place to eat on campus, considers itself vegan friendly because they have salad and fruit. Freshii offers lots of vegan tofu options that you can buy for a meal swipe. If you’re vegan you will live here. Sadly we also have a burger and pizza place that has no vegan options on the meal plan (if you just want fries you have to pay out of pocket for them). Einstein bagels are NOT vegan for bases. So I would suggest going to megabytes and getting a bagel with peanut butter or avocado and a smoothie. Megabytes is not on the meal plan at all so you will be paying out of pocket. Overall, AU is not particularly vegan friendly as an eatery or as a liberal school. There are no vegan or animal rights groups on campus which is ABSURD considering the type of school AU pretends to be. The beekeeping society sells honey, human rights groups do not consider animal rights an issue, and how can you enjoy Cava with the heavy smell of slaughtered lamb in the air? Chipotle is the only vegan watering hole and it is off campus but in walking distance.