On Friday, October 18th, Dining Services will participate in its 2nd annual Pink Out Day to support breast cancer awareness and research by wearing pink ribbons and/or pink clothing. We invite the campus community to join in and show their support.

Pink Out Day Specials on Friday, Oct 18th

Retail Cafes (Storrs Campus) – Receive a free pink ribbon sugar cookie made by the UConn Bakery if you are wearing pink or a pink ribbon. While supplies last.

Mango – Pink Drink smoothie – Strawberries, Greek yogurt & coconut milk, 20 oz drink, 17g of protein, $7.75; Mango is also handing out pink ribbon sugar cookies and breast cancer awareness bracelets to anyone wearing pink/pink ribbon – while supplies last; Mango Mike will make an appearance around noon.

One Plate, Two Plates – Pretty In Pink Salad – available all month; This salad is a great balance of creamy and crunchy with spinach, chopped strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, diced avocado, crumbled goat cheese, strawberry poppyseed dressing, and roasted pepitas. $7.25

McMahon – McMahon will be hosting a cancer awareness lunch; each station will represent a different cancer ribbon color and that color will be represented in the entree.

Dining Halls – All dining halls will have pink ribbon sugar cookies made by the bakery as a dessert option at lunch on Oct. 18th. While supplies last.

Follow Dining to stay up-to-date on specials, events, changes in hours, and more. Facebook | Instagram

Summer dining hours and meal plans begin Monday, May 6th.

Please review all summer details at dining.uconn.edu/summer.

PASSOVER 2024 – NOSH Kosher Kitchen in Gelfenbien Dining Commons and UConn Hillel House will be serving Passover meals from Monday, April 22nd – Tuesday, April 30th by reservation only.

Visit dining.uconn.edu/passover-meals for more information and meal sign-up.

All eight of our dining halls have recently achieved the highest level of certification from the Green Restaurant Association (GRA). UConn is the only campus in the United States to have every dining hall become four-star certified.

To achieve certification, UConn Dining had to meet several GRA requirements, including the implementation of sustainable practices in the following areas:

• Energy Use
• Water Efficiency
• Waste Reduction
• Reusables & Disposables
• Chemical and Pollution Reduction
• Food
• Buildings & Furnishings
• Education & Transparency

The GRA is a nonprofit organization that works to create an environmentally sustainable restaurant industry by helping restaurants become more environmentally responsible. Their standards reflect over 30 years of research in the field of restaurants and the environment.

The purpose of the GRA standards is to provide a transparent way to measure each restaurant’s environmental accomplishments, while providing a pathway for the next steps they can take to increase their environmental sustainability. Restaurants can earn GreenPoints™ in any of the eight categories below.  To become a Certified Green Restaurant®, enough GreenPoints™ must be earned across the categories.

UConn Dining has implemented several sustainable practices over the years, including trayless dining to reduce food waste and water usage, measuring pre-consumer waste, sending waste to be transformed into biogas and compost, and recycling cooking oil. Dining is also the largest procurer of local produce in Connecticut.

Below are just some of the practices that have been implemented in each category to achieve a four-star rating:

• Energy Use – All dining rooms now have LED lighting, purchase Energy Star equipment as replacements and have installed strip curtains in all refrigeration and freezers to reduce energy loss.
• Water Efficiency – Water use is calibrated for the appropriate job including sink aeration, low flow sprayers and dish washers.
• Waste Reduction – UConn Dining uses china/glass/silver for meal service rather than disposable wares. Bulk packaging is used for over 80% of condiments, salt & pepper, etc.
• Reusables & Disposables – Disposable products are made with a high content of recyclable materials and are bleach free.
• Chemical and Pollution Reduction – Green Seal cleaning products are used in all operations. No idling policies are in place for the loading docks and smoking is designated to be at least 25’ away from buildings.
• Food – UConn Dining serves a high percentage of vegan and vegetarian foods throughout the menu.
• Buildings & Furnishings – Paints, coatings and building materials in renovations have low VOC, are high in recycled content and the construction debris is recycled.
• Education & Transparency – The UConn Dining website and every dining hall has information about the Green Restaurant Association and proudly displays the star awards.

In addition, three of UConn’s Dining Halls have recently received awards from the Green Restaurant Association.

• Putnam Dining Hall – winner of the 2023 Chemical and Pollution Reduction Award for being the Certified Green Restaurant® with the most GreenPoints™ in the Chemicals Category with 60.26 GreenPoints™.
• Whitney Dining Hall – winner of the 2023 Waste Reduction Award for being the Certified Green Restaurant® with the most GreenPoints™ in the Waste Category with 78.85 GreenPoints™.
• McMahon Dining – winner of the 2023 Water Conservation Award for being the Certified Green Restaurant® with the most GreenPoints™ in the Water Category with 44.29 GreenPoints™.

UConn Dining has also received recognition for its sustainable practices from other organizations, including the Sustainable Foodservice Leaders Award from the National Association of College and University Food Services and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Food Recovery Challenge Award.

To learn more about more about the GRA points that each dining hall has achieved visit https://dining.uconn.edu/certified-green/

The annual Earth Day Spring Fling, co-hosted by the UConn Office of Sustainability and UConn Dining Services, will take place Wednesday, April 19th on Fairfield Way from 11am-2pm. The sustainability festival will include vendors, fun activities, and a Zero Waste BBQ catered by Dining Services.

The Zero Waste BBQ from Dining will feature vegan, vegetarian, and sustainable menu items that have been locally sourced. Lunch will cost one flex pass or $12 credit/debit. The meal cost will include a small ice cream from the UConn Dairy Bar truck that will be on site. UConn Bakery will also be on Fairfield Way handing out cupcakes decorated with a BBQ theme (while supplies last).

See below for menu and schedule. Make sure to sign up & sign a waiver for outdoor yoga at sustainability.uconn.edu/earth-day-spring-fling

UConn Admissions will have an action-packed program for admitted students and their family members on Saturday, April 1st and Saturday, April 15th.

The following Dining Services locations will be open for visitors. All locations are cashless (except the Dairy Bar). All major debit/credit is accepted.

DINING HALLS

All dining halls are open except Buckley, click here for a map

Brunch Prices for UConn Bound Days: 

Adult: $10 (plus tax)
Child under 12: $7 (plus tax)

Hours:

Putnam: 10:30am-2:30pm
South: 10:30am-2:00pm
North & Whitney: 10:30am-2pm
McMahon & Northwest: 10:30am-2:15pm
Gelfenbien: 10:30am-2:30pm

RETAIL LOCATIONS

Student Union

Union Street Market: 10:30am-Midnight
Market Cafe: 8am-4pm
Earth, Wok & Fire: 11am-2:30pm
Union Exchange Convenience Store (C-Store): 11am-7pm

Other Locations:

Bookworms Cafe (Library): 10am-4pm
Mango (Rec Center): 10am-6pm
Food For the Pack (Food Truck – Fairfield Way): 11:30am-2:30pm
Dairy Bar: 11am-7pm
Dairy Bar Truck (Fairfield Way)  – 11am-3pm

PASSOVER 2023 – NOSH Kosher Kitchen in Gelfenbien and Hillel House will be serving Passover meals Wednesday, April 5th to Thursday, April 13th by reservation only.

Any meals at Hillel House will be catered by Nosh Kosher Kitchen. All other meals are prepared by Nosh Kosher Kitchen and served at Gelfenbien Commons.

Meals can be paid for by meal swipes, points, flex passes, check, credit card, or billed to your fee bill.

Each guest must be signed up on a separate form and may be paid for by points, flex passes, check, credit card, or fee bill.

All meal swipes, flex passes and points will be taken off your meal plan when your form is submitted.

Paying by credit card or check must be done at Dining Services, located in Towers/Hamilton building, by April 5th.

There are no refunds for missed meals.
Keep a copy of this form for your own records.

• April 5^th Seder Dinner is at Hillel
• April 6^th breakfast and lunch at Gelfenbien, dinner at Hillel, dinner is 2^nd Seder
• April 7^th breakfast and lunch are at Gelfenbien, Shabbat dinner is at Hillel
• April 8^th brunch and dinner at Hillel
• April 9^th brunch and dinner at Gelfenbien
• April 10^th-13^th all 3 meals at Gelfenbien

Visit here to sign up for meals.