Two Maine colleges are taking home the bacon when it comes to making the national grade in their dining halls.
A pair of new nationwide college-food surveys rank Bowdoin College in Brunswick as No. 2 and Bates College in Lewiston as No. 7 when it comes to good eats.
The top accolades come from the Princeton Review, which rated Bowdoin’s excellence, and Niche.com, which cited Bates’.
So there’s some friendly (but heated) competition going on when it comes to college eats.
“When you hear about a school ranking highly on a national list, especially for something like food, it’s one of those positive extras that makes the whole experience even more appealing – because while food isn’t the top priority when choosing a school, it’s definitely not not a factor,” says I95Rocks.com’s Jordan Verge.
As laid out in its updated ‘2026 Best College Food in America’ rankings, the Niche.com list is based on factors like meal-plan costs and student reviews.
Princeton says it bases its rankings “on what students attending the schools tell us about their experiences.”
The top-ranked colleges stand out for offering high-quality, accessible dining options, with a wide variety of cuisines and choices to fit different dietary needs.
