Welcome to Stanford Dining!

As the Executive Director of the Stanford Dining, I would like to welcome you to our award winning and culinary focused department. Stanford Dining is committed to excellence and truly believes students come first and are the reason we are here. Through our extraordinary partnership with students we are creating sustainable dining models which have an effect on sustaining the environment at Stanford and beyond the campus. You will find that Stanford Dining has created a “Culture of Excellence” with an exceptional team of chefs, managers and service staff who are ready to serve you. I encourage you to discuss any particular menu needs with my team; they are here to make your dining experience extraordinary.

Stanford University has a residential dining program that is unlike other universities. At Stanford, student community is fostered through “breaking bread together” in the dining halls to create a living and learning environment. This is a founding principle that dates to the inception of the university and to the Stanford’s belief in a “community of scholars”. Each one of the ten exceptional and unique dining halls contributes to the core purpose of student community building.

Stanford Dining’s mission is in partnership with Residential Education. We work closely with Resident Fellows and RAs in coordinated efforts to create community for students in a shared living/learning environment and to have fun activities that are tailored to each of the dining halls.

Our student friendly website, http://dining.stanford.edu provides a one-stop-shop locale for you to view and manage your meal plan, track your transactions of meal plan dollars, change your meal plan or sign-up for Cardinal Dollars, which you can use at the various Stanford Hospitality & Auxiliaries retail cafés, http://hospitality.stanford.edu, conveniently located throughout campus. In addition, there are many new and exciting programs offered this year including expanded menu options at Late Night at Lakeside Dining and at the newly enhanced The Dish at Stern Dining. You can also review nutritional information, food origin, hours of operation or send us a note and Let us Know how we are doing. This year we are launching our first Iphone app so you can view nutritional and menu information from your Iphone. Also look for us on Twitter @stanforddining for special menus and event information.

To further enhance your experience at Stanford, my staff and I work closely with students and student leaders on the farm like the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) Stanford Student Enterprises (SSE), Stanford Project on Hunger (SPOON), Students for a Sustainable Stanford and many, many more to provide an opportunity to reach out and help the community at large. Sustainability is a way of life at Stanford Dining. During your first week, please stop by the cashier’s stand in your dining hall for your complimentary, reusable canteen to welcome you and encourage sustainability efforts on the campus.

We look forward to getting to know you, serving you great food and helping make this an outstanding year at Stanford!

At your service,

Eric Montell
Executive Director
Stanford Dining