Already recognized as having one of the best college dining halls in the region, Roger Williams University now claims the number-one spot for best college food in Rhode Island, and 16th in the country, according to USA Today College.

"College and food are two pretty important things in life," USA Today College reported this week. "For all of you high school seniors out there debating where to go to school, worry no more. Coursework, class size and location shouldn't be your only criteria for picking the school that's best for you. Food keeps you alive and the food you eat at college should keep you happy."

RWU’s Dining Commons was rated the best dining option on the Bristol campus, and quality was the most highly-rated category, the report says, noting that "Roger Williams uses Bon Appétit as their dining service to provide students with a variety of food choices."

It's not the first time RWU has captured top-billing for its dining hall food. The University was recently named one of the "14 Best College Dining Halls in America by popular food and lifestyle news site Thrillist.com and topped a 2015 list of "Best College Dining Halls in the nation by BestColleges.Com.

USA Today based its ranking on studies done by Niche, which based the rankings on meal plan costs and student reviews, which raved about the dining hall’s quality.

Head Chef Jonathan Cambra and his staff serve as many as 5,000 meals a day, with much of the ingredients coming from local sources. The school’s commitment to local is highlighted each year by the Eat Local Challenge, an event founded by Bon Appetit, parent company of the university’s dining services, which challenges all of its dining halls and restaurants in the country to prepare meals with only local ingredients. 

The company’s Farm to Fork program supports using locally-sourced ingredients year-round, which is an easier task in New England around this time of year, according to Bon Apetit General Manager James Gubata. As much as 35 percent of the food served at Roger Williams is from local farms, dairies and fisheries — especially during the fall harvest season in the northeast — exceeding the companies 20 percent goal. With an annual $5 million food budget at Roger Williams, “we’re really supporting the local food market here,” Mr. Gubata said.

The university also has a small garden on campus and hopes to build a greenhouse to further localize its food production.

Mr. Gubata said the ranking reflects a passion for providing good, healthy, locally sourced food to students - a passion shared by Mr. Cambra and staff members who bring in recipes from home reflecting the tastes of Italy, Portugal, Spain and other parts of the world.

In addition to using local ingredients, RWU’s dining hall also aims to limit waste. At the end of each day, dining staff members work with the student chapter of the Food Recovery Network to package unserved food and deliver it to local food pantries.