When it comes to the college student experience, it is safe to say that food is a huge part of it. Auburn University has a variety of options, from dining halls like The Edge to on-campus chain restaurants like Chick-fil-A and Panda Express. However, despite the positives, students and staff alike feel like Auburn's dining options have room for improvement.
As of right now, Auburn University has 34 on-campus dining locations. Many of these places have been established to further the culinary wants and needs of Auburn students.
Glenn Loughridge, the director of campus dining and concessions, has personally helped with several changes to the student dining experience throughout his 13 years at Auburn
“When I got here, [Auburn] did not have dining halls,” Loughridge said. “I wanted us to have a place that kind of promoted community, where the students can sit down, have a lot of different options in one place.”
Since then, three dining halls have opened on Auburn's campus: The Edge near the Quad residence halls, Tiger Zone near the Village residence halls and Wellness Kitchen on South Donahue. Many students appreciate the option of having dining halls and Loughridge's hard work to improve campus dining.
“I like the various food options at both The Edge and Foy,” said Evan Clarkson, freshman in film.
However, some Auburn students do feel that there could be room for improvement. Most complaints from students have to deal with the wait times at all of the possible dining options.
“The lines at Panera take forever. It took me three hours once to get my food,” said Whitney Gump, freshman in history.
Many on-campus dining options use GrubHub to allow students to order and track their food. However, the app does not always provide an accurate estimate for when the food will be ready for pickup.
For Clarkson, most of the issues he has noticed with the inaccurate wait times is from Foy on the Fly, Foy Hall’s express food pickup service.
“[GrubHub] really needs to be more accurate when saying your food is done. It’s usually a two to three minute wait after they say my food is done at Foy before it’s actually done,” Clarkson said.
Every year, Auburn dining provides a survey called "W Ratings" that allows students to comment on Auburn's campus dining.
“[The survey] kind of helps us understand less about ‘What’s your favorite place to eat on campus?’ and more about ‘How do you see [campus dining] operating?'" Loughridge said.
Auburn Campus Dining has plans of expansion for the 2026-27 school year to accommodate the increasing number of Auburn students.
Loughridge and the campus dining team are planning for a build-your-own power bowl place at Tiger Zone.
“It would do Mediterranean some weeks and could do Mexican, kind of the Chipotle style, some weeks," Loughridge said.
Loughridge also said that a brand new expansion is in construction under the Edge. It will consist of three different stalls: a deli with fresh vegetables and meats, a Mediterranean place similar to Cava and a place with ramen and other types of noodles.
“I think we’ve got some fun things coming and hopefully things that students will respond to,” Loughridge said.
In the next school year, the increase in dining options provides a positive future for on-campus dining and can possibly help with Auburn students’ main gripe of wait times for food.
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Amelia Gatzke, freshman majoring in psychology, is from Huntsville, Alabama. She has been with The Auburn Plainsman since the fall of 2025.
