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"  If your image of the college dining hall is pajama clad co-eds surviving on soggy fries or cereal mash-ups of Fruit Loops and Lucky Charms, then it&amp;#039;s time to take a trip back to school. Many of today&amp;#039;s college cafeterias are more organic than that advanced chem class you slept through, not only boasting gourmet menus, but also those with plenty of sustainably-raised and meat-free options for today&amp;#039;s socially-conscious eaters. In fact, the U.S. now has what is reportedly its first all-vegan college cafeteria, in the unlikely location of Texas ranch country at the University of North Texas. Reuters reports that the menu features animal-free dishes like vegetarian sushi, asparagus soup, and biscuits with chocolate gravy. More from Delish: 14 Vegetarian Appetizers and Sides The desire for vegetarian and vegan options is growing, according to surveys done by campus food providers. One such survey conducted by the food services company Aramark found that one in four students are seeking vegan fare. And its not just strict animal-free dieters who are flocking to the UNT&amp;#039;s vegan cafeteria, say the university&amp;#039;s officials; students who want lighter alternatives to traditional college junk food eats are also partaking. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s healthy. I was trying not to gain the freshman 15, but I actually like it,&amp;quot; Rebecca Arroyo, a freshman at UNT, who isn&amp;#039;t vegan, told Reuters. &amp;quot;Students are ahead of the curve of their very campuses and food providers,&amp;quot; Chris Elam, program director of Meatless Mondays, a nonprofit public health initiative that encourages omnivores to eat animal free once a week, told US News earlier this summer. &amp;quot;They have already moved to a more plant-based diet, and the campuses are following slowly.&amp;quot; Meatless Mondays, which is already in place at 50 colleges (the schools offer more meat-free offerings on Mondays), will expand this fall as Sodexo, which provides food to some 650 post-secondary institutions, introduces the program. More from Delish: Vegetarian Family Dinners The increasing interest in dietary alternatives among college students is also impacting the classroom, US News reports. Rutgers and Franklin and Marshall both offer popular courses on ethical eating, and at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, professor Nina Vought started teaching an annual month-long course called Eco-Logical Eating at the behest of her students who were interested in learning about her vegan diet. &amp;quot;This is the first time for many of them that they realize vegan food is not [just] iceberg lettuce and carrot sticks,&amp;quot; Vought told US News. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.delish.com/food/news/a38809/college-dining-halls-vegetarian-vegan/>