Campus Dining
Hunting and gathering on campus.
Our promise to you: We expect our food to taste good, but we want it to do more than that. We want to know where it came from. How it’s made. Who prepared it. We want it to tell a story. Our chefs are not just cooks proficient in technique and flavor development – they are educators, environmental stewards, wellness advocates, and innovators. They place Harvest Table’s five culinary commitments, front and center as pantry lists of ingredients and recipe collections are developed to serve Wake Forest guests at each of our unique locations across campus.
Dig in.
What you need to know
“The Pit” (The Harvest Table)
Reynolda Hall
The Harvest Table is affectionately known around campus as “the Pit” due to its location in the lowest level of Reynolda Hall. Enjoy all-you-care-to-eat dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Meals are made fresh daily and designed to be nutritionally balanced, utilizing products that are locally procured, humanely raised and responsibly sourced whenever possible. Choose from homestyle favorites, rotisserie items, sandwiches, omelets, fresh salads, pastas, international meals, homemade desserts and more.
The Pit also hosts a Vegan Station with a PETA A/A+ rating since 2019, helping to get Wake Forest recognized as one of the “Top 10 Vegan Friendliest Schools in the Nation.” All items in the Pit are made without peanuts and tree nuts.
“Mag Room” (The Magnolia Room)
Reynolda Hall
Come by the Magnolia Room and enjoy an upscale all-you-care-to-eat lunch Monday through Friday on the second floor of Reynolda Hall. Fine-dining food and décor creates a more intimate dining atmosphere.
Subway and Provisions on Demand (P.O.D.) Convenience Store
Davis Hall
Subway and the attached P.O.D. convenience store are located on Hearn Plaza in Davis Hall and are open 24 hours a day.
Benson Food Court
Benson Student Center
Located on the second floor of the Benson University Center, Benson Food Court features national and local favorites, including Chick-fil-A, Yamas Mediterranean Street Food, Bento (freshly prepared sushi and Asian cuisine hot bar), Forest Greens (chopped salads, deli, Sambazon Acai Bowl) and the 336 Market.
Shorty’s Restaurant & Bar
Benson Student Center
The story began in 1916 with “Shorty” Joyner when he opened a small restaurant on White Street in Wake Forest, North Carolina, near the campus of Wake Forest College. The restaurant eventually became a local hangout for all students. When Wake Forest moved to Winston-Salem in 1956, Shorty’s came along with it. Shorty’s remains a favorite dining and gathering place for the Wake Forest community. Located on the second floor of Benson University Center, this Wake Forest landmark is known for its delicious tavern menu and fun trivia nights!
Hilltop Market
North Dining Hall
This all-you-care-to-eat dining hall combines the dining style of a modern servery with the fresh and healthy choices of a traditional residential restaurant. The menu features a wide variety of chef-driven recipes featuring American favorites and global cuisine. Meals are made fresh daily and designed to be nutritionally balanced utilizing products locally procured and responsibly sourced whenever possible.
Village Juice, Starbucks & Provisions on Demand (P.O.D.) Market
North Dining Hall
Village Juice is owned and operated by local Wake Forest alumni, boasting healthy eating that tastes amazing, from made-to-order salad, grain and smoothie bowls to signature smoothies. The North Dining Hall’s Starbucks is a full-service venue serving breakfast and lunch selections. It is adjacent to the Provisions on Demand (P.O.D.) Market convenience store. Village Juice is located upstairs in North Dining Hall next to Hilltop Market.
Local Coffee Shop
ZSR Library
Enjoy freshly baked pastries and locally roasted coffee while studying or meeting with friends.
Campus Grounds
Taylor Hall
Conveniently located off Hearn Plaza. Stop by to enjoy locally roasted coffee and artisan-crafted products at this student-run gathering place.
Billy D’s at Zick’s
Poteat Hall
Named in honor of Ken Zick, former president and dean of student affairs, Zick’s is proud to enrich the Wake Forest campus as a favorite hangout venue. It was voted #1 flatbread in Winston-Salem by Wake Forest Students. Visit this landmark for pizza and billiards, or watch a sporting event with friends! Housed in the same location is Billy D’s. Billy D’s is fried chicken made with love and local ingredients by Chef William Dissen. Chef Dissen was named, “The most sustainable chef in the world” by Chef Gordon Ramsay.
Einstein Bros. Bagels
Farrell Hall
Known for its perfectly baked bagels, Einstein Bros. also boasts some of the best coffee and espresso — featuring Caribou Coffee® — deli sandwiches, breakfast egg sandwiches, lunch catering and delicious baked snacks and sweets.
Sustainability in Dining
Our efforts to promote a more sustainable food system include the following:
- Prioritizing foods and beverages that are fresh and in season, organically certified, humanely raised and handled, fair-trade certified and/or approved by the Monterey Bay Aquarium whenever possible.
- Creating delicious menus that optimize the nutrition of fruits, vegetables and grains for fully vegan, vegetarian or plant-forward options that include animal proteins. Shifting to a more plant-based way of eating helps reduce freshwater withdrawals and greenhouse gas emissions and is a win‑win for both our personal health and the environment.
- Collecting prep waste in The Pit, coffee grounds across campus, and all food waste in North Dining for composting.
More information on Wake Forest University’s commitment to sustainability can be found on our Sustainability website.
Meet Our Registered Dietitian
Food is the fuel your body needs to function. Making smart choices is a critical part of health and wellbeing. Special dietary needs and concerns can be accommodated by contacting our registered dietitian.
Stop by our main office, located in Reynolda Hall, Room 12, visit our website, or call 336.758.6410 for more information.
Diverse Dietary Needs
Deacon Dining strives to accommodate the diverse dietary needs of our students. Students can view menus and ingredients for all residential and retail locations, and have access to a dietitian who works with medical providers to help guide students on how to eat on campus with their specific food allergies, intolerances and preferences.
We actively participate in the Global Foods Committee as well as other international student organizations to provide culturally authentic foods. We offer a variety of vegan, vegetarian, kosher and halal items across residential and retail dining locations.
Performance Dining
We engage and inform students about the healthy functions of foods to help them make choices that will fuel performance across the day, from the classroom to the gym. Students will find a performance dining station in The Harvest Table at Reynolda stocked with lean animal and plant-based proteins, whole grains, a spice bar, an array of vegetables and more.
Visit the dining website to submit suggestions on how to build a performance dining meal or snack.
Reducing Food Waste with Campus Kitchen
Campus Kitchen and Wake Forest Dining partner to tackle food waste and hunger. Food that is prepared but never served is repurposed into 300 regular meals per week for food insecure individuals and families. Produce from the Campus Garden complements the repurposed food, so volunteers can make fresh meals from scratch in the Campus Kitchen.
Dining FAQs
Unused Food Dollars carry over from fall to spring semester if you also have a spring meal plan, but expire at the end of the spring semester.
Old Gold Swipes are included in your total number of meals and serve as enhancements to the traditional meals. A portion of your Meal Swipes is considered Old Gold. In addition to their usage as traditional Meal Swipes at any residential dining hall, these swipes may be used to purchase combo meals in almost all of our retail locations.
Our menus are available on the dining website.
Food Dollars can be used only for food purchases. Deacon Dollars can be used at a variety of locations, including the Bookstore and the Deacon Shop, in addition to Wake Forest Dining venues. Deacon Dollars carry over as long as you are enrolled as a Wake Forest student.
Go to the Quick Add Value webpage which will allow anyone to add food dollars or Deacon Dollars with only the need for the student last name and student ID number. A page will open with a shopping-cart style form to conduct a transaction and add funds.
Meal plan changes are administered by the Office of Residence Life and Housing.
Food Dollar balances can be checked at all cash registers and on the dining website. Meal Swipes can be checked through any residential dining hall registers. Sign up for low-balance alerts on our site to stay up to date on your Food Dollars.
Most students who live on campus are required to have a meal plan. The requirement for the amount of meals purchased varies depending on where a student is living on campus.
Students who live off campus are not required to have a meal plan, but they may purchase a traditional, commuter or apartment plan when they register their off-campus address in WIN. Please visit our meal plans page for more information regarding Dining Services, including meal plan options and rates.
Meal Plans
Most residential students are required to purchase a meal plan. There are several meal plan options available to you. Each meal plan consists of Meal Swipes, Old Gold Swipes and Food Dollars. Choose the one that best matches your dining lifestyle.
Food Dollars
Food Dollars work like a debit account. Each time a purchase is made, the amount is deducted from the balance in your account. Food Dollars can be used at any campus dining location. Add Food Dollars to your account at any time at dining.wfu.edu or by visiting the dining office located in Reynolda Hall, Room 12.
Meal Swipes
Meal Swipes are used to access the The Harvest Table at Reynolda (The Pit), the Magnolia Room and the Hilltop Market. These locations feature a variety of stations, including a deli, salad bar, made-to-order international grill, Southern kitchen, pizza and made-to-order pasta.
Old Gold Swipes
Old Gold Swipes are included in your total number of meals and serve as enhancements to the traditional meals. A portion of your Meal Swipes is considered Old Gold. In addition to their usage as traditional Meal Swipes at any residential dining hall, these swipes may be used to purchase combo meals in almost all of our retail locations.
Where to Eat
- “The Pit” (The Harvest Table)
- “Mag Room” (The Magnolia Room
- Subway and Provisions on Demand (P.O.D.) Convenience Store
- Benson Food Court
- Shorty’s Restaurant & Bar
- Hilltop Market
- Village Juice, Starbucks & Provisions on Demand (P.O.D.) Market
- Camino Bakery
- Campus Grounds
- Billy D’s at Zick’s
- Einstein Bros. Bagels