Trends & Insights

Campus Dining Shapes Gen Z Tastes

August 6, 2025

College students love innovative cuisine in campus dining, and take new tastes with them after graduation. Discover Gen Z coffee, food, and other trends.

College isn’t all about studying and homework: campus dining shapes standards and expectations for Gen Z students, both for college and university foodservice and beyond. Over 3.5 million students graduated high school in 2025¹, and immediate college enrollment rate has held steady at over 60%². In other words, one can estimate that over 2 million Gen Zs will have their first student dining experiences this year.

From residential dining halls to commuter campuses, students have sophisticated, trend-forward university foodservice experiences crafted to their unique hungers and whims. Like so much of what they learned in classrooms, these tastes and habits become deeply embedded baselines. They'll serve as blueprints for what they expect once their wallets get fuller and dining-out occasions more frequent.

Curious, adventurous, driven by social values and drawn to experiential rather than transactional meals, they already show strong affinity for restaurant use. About half of Gen Z adults "easily afford to eat out as often as [they] want.”³ For operations looking to cultivate this crowd, investing in their further immersion is smart business.

Three young adults sitting at a table with cell phones and cold drinks

Campus Dining Tips

Here’s the rundown on programs and amenities that increasingly are campus dining norms rather than cutting-edge outliers. From always-available food to Gen Z coffee standbys, these help students connect to their campus dining:

24/7 access to meals, including all-day breakfast

Branded and proprietary restaurant concepts — that match off-campus quality and authenticity

Contactless ease of kiosk and app-based ordering, and payment via digital wallets

High-tech vending machines — with more than coffee, candy bars, and wrapped sandwiches

Delivery anywhere, everywhere, and whenever

University-sponsored food trucks and eco-friendly food bikes

Super-efficient robotic delivery, and even drones at some schools

Forward-thinking approaches to composting, recycling, and waste reduction for food and packaging

Plant-based options available at all meals

Organic, sustainable, and humanely raised ingredients

Farm-to-campus and even farm-on-campus programs

Ongoing partnerships with local farmers, growers, foragers, and producers

Student advisory committees and actively solicited input for student dining meals and policies

Food halls with something for everyone, all convenient and within easy reach

Guest chefs to shake up menus

Quick change-out of concepts that become dated or less relevant

Prepared-to-order meals with customizable options

Shareable foods to enhance social interactions

Meals for specials diets, with on-staff nutritionists available for personalized meal planning

Options that mirror the diversity of student bodies

Options that reflect the explosive interest in global flavors

Options that match Gen Z coffee trends and TikTok trends

University Foodservice Suggestions

As for what’s on menus at campus dining locations around the country, here’s a study guide on some recent offerings:

Overnight oats with old-fashioned rolled oats, chia seeds, maple syrup, soy milk, and pumpkin seed topping

Roasted polenta cakes with quinoa and sweet corn, roasted red pepper sauce, and mozzarella cheese

Red lentil kofta with tzatziki sauce, arugula, red onions, and feta cheese in whole wheat pita bread

Lemon and herb-crusted tofu

Pulled short rib sandwich with caramelized onions, arugula, and mustard horseradish sauce on ciabatta

Buffalo cauliflower taco with tempura-fried cauliflower, crumbled blue cheese, buffalo sauce, and ranch dressing

Tamarind-glazed eggplant

Build-your-own pho bar

Noodle bowl of smoked pork belly, stir-fried noodles, pickled vegetable slaw, green onions, jalapeño chilies, and a hard-cooked egg, topped with chili-garlic sriracha sauce

Charred Korean chicken with sweet chile-ginger sauce

Wheatberry wraps with apples and beets

Cold coffee offerings throughout the day

Coffee customization options, from favorite creamers to plant-based options

Seasonal mocktails for an elevated caffeine and alcohol-free beverage experience

Sources: 1. Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education — Knocking at the College Door (2024); 2. National Center for Education Statistics — FAST FACTS: Immediate transition to college (2024); 3. Datassential Gen Z Evolving Habits – Elevate Huddle (Nov 2024) 