Pomona College - Campus Dining

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

The quality of campus food service is a common target for complaint and ridicule among students, but Pomona actually does a pretty good job. No, it’s not gourmet, nor probably even commensurate with your dear mother’s cooking, but Pomona’s dining halls offer a large variety of dining options. Students particularly laud the design-your-own meals, which range from pizza to stir-fry and have become more and more of a fixture in recent years. The option of attending the other colleges’ dining halls also provides some needed variety. The dining hall staff also goes to great lengths, unfortunately with very mixed results, to meet the needs of those with dietary restrictions.

Pomona dining inspires mixed reviews. There are a staggering amount of options, but you get a nagging feeling that the food just isn’t that fresh. However, preparing meals, day in and day out, for 1,400 hungry students with a whole slew of dietary preferences and restrictions must be a staggering task. There is a good dynamic between Frary and Frank dining halls, the former being an enormous, cathedral-esque hall, the latter being far more modern and varied in design. Vegetarians and vegans certainly won’t starve, though they may end up eating a lot of plain pasta and bagels, and nightly “Snack,” which is a sort of ad-hoc meal each weeknight from 10:30 p.m. to midnight, not only provides late-night sustenance, but serves as a sort of social event, as well. One thing you can definitely say for the dining hall staff is that they try very hard to mix things up. However, they are consistently inconsistent, which can at times be very frustrating for an on-campus diner.

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

The food at Pomona is not... The food at Pomona is not terrible, but it’s nothing to rave about. 12345 Campus Dining Report

Anonymous says:

Sausage pizza soup: how did they... Sausage pizza soup: how did they even make that? 12345 Campus Dining Report

Anonymous says:

I was pleased with the food on... I was pleased with the food on campus. The salad bar is always stocked full of fresh and glorious vegetables and fruit. 12345 Campus Dining Report

Anonymous says:

The dining hall is alright. There... The dining hall is alright. There are lots more vegetarian and vegan options than there are at other schools. With the newly renovated Frary Dining Hall, there is great potential for even better fare. 12345 Campus Dining Report

Anonymous says:

The dining halls rock, but... The dining halls rock, but spoiled, bratty students love to gripe about the food. In Frary, you’re dining in about as much style as you’ll ever see on a college campus. 12345 Campus Dining Report

Did You Know?

Pomona’s Frary Dining Hall is graced with a giant mural by Jose Orozco of Prometheus. The giant, fire-bringing half-god is pictured writhing amidst all sorts of dark and portentous figures, one of whom resembles a fetal fawn with a baby’s head—just what students want to see when they’re eating. In the ‘50s, when it was painted, the college officials were worried about female students seeing ol’ Prometheus’s package, and so they had it painted over. To this day, Prometheus, without whom none of us would have fire, remains emasculated.

Many students tout the merits of sneaking into Frank Dining Hall, which merely requires scaling a five-foot wall out back. Yes, it’s easy (except when the back door is being guarded), but remember that crime doesn’t pay. Unless you are really, really hungry and have no other options for obtaining sustenance. In that case, a good argument could be made for it paying.

It’s also possible to sneak into Frary Dining Hall during off hours, but it requires scaling buildings and shimmying through ducts, and when you finally get in, all the food is locked away anyway.

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