Reed College - Campus Dining

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

Unlike most institutions of higher education, Reed offers only one centralized dining hall for students choosing to dine on campus. However, while most students agree that on-campus college food usually lacks in comparison to what you could cook for yourself in a private apartment, Reed students seem to appreciate what their campus dining experience has to offer. Although small in size, the Reed Commons takes into account the diverse population of Reed, and accordingly offers a wide variety of dining options. With numerous vegan and vegetarian options alongside the traditional fare, Reed’s dining hall accounts for the nutritional needs of its school’s student body while serving food that students find reasonably appealing. Furthermore, Reed students enjoy the flexibility of Reed’s sole dining hall, which has a pay-as-you-dine system. You pay for each single item you purchase, instead of paying for a specific amount of individual meals. By not having students pay for meals as a whole, Reed’s Commons allows students to satiate their hunger in any manner at virtually any time.

However fun it may be to dine on campus, the experience becomes rather tedious if done repeatedly. Although Reed’s Commons presents diverse options to the Reed student body, students do become weary of seeing the same 10 to 20 specials repeated ad nauseum. While most students do dislike the repetition and atmosphere of on-campus dining in some respects, many busy students do enjoy not having to spend their free time buying and preparing food. However, most on-campus students secretly wait in rapt attention for their few daily trips to Reed’s dining hall, as they consider them temporary reprieves from studying. It seems that, for the most part, Reed students relish the chance to escape from their books and see friendly faces.

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

The only food hall on campus is... The only food hall on campus is Commons, which is fairly good. Like any cafeteria, it gets old after a while, but they really are innovative. They have gotten several recent awards for bringing interesting dishes into the college environment. There are always vegetarian, and yes, vegan choices, though the meat is pretty good, too. The hours are good, except on weekends. At what other college can you get sushi for lunch? 12345 Campus Dining Report

Anonymous says:

The food in Commons gets tedious,... The food in Commons gets tedious, but Expo is usually good, and they do a good job of trying to offer variety. There’s a lot of catering to vegans, vegetarians, and the occasional, barbaric meat-eater. 12345 Campus Dining Report

Anonymous says:

Commons is the only place on... Commons is the only place on campus that consistently has perishable food that is not frozen. The food at Commons is usually pretty good. The menu offers some variety, but the same food items tend to circulate back onto the menu, so the menu can eventually seem a bit unoriginal. There are days when nothing looks appetizing and other days when there are too many good things to choose from. 12345 Campus Dining Report

Anonymous says:

The dining hall isn’t bad for the... The dining hall isn’t bad for the first year. After that, the selection is repetitive. 12345 Campus Dining Report

Anonymous says:

I’m a vegetarian, and there’s... I’m a vegetarian, and there’s always a pasta bar, pizza options, and meatless burgers at every meal, along with a main vegan or vegetarian option on the menu, which is nice, but they have a tendency to use a lot of tofu planks (I can’t express how much I loathe tofu planks) and bell peppers, which don’t bother me, but I know a lot of people who can’t stand them. Still, I suppose it’s better than some schools that just have a pasta bar. 12345 Campus Dining Report

Did You Know?

Bon Appètit, a major college caterer, provides for Reed’s on-campus dining. Despite the traditional gripes, Bon Appetit does provide tasty food with the ease and accessibility that one would expect of on-campus dining.

After Commons, no other dining halls or places to use meal points exist. You cannot use your points at the coffee shops or bookstore.

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