Dining Service Committee
In line with the government’s policies of food safety, reducing food waste, and promoting eco-friendly tableware, NTU established the NTU Dining Service Committee to manage restaurants and convenience stores on campus, so that faculty, staff, and students can enjoy delicious food options safely. All dining service providers need to follow the "Regulations for Restaurant and Commissary Food Hygiene and Safety" and also the "School Health Act." The expertise and farm resources of NTU’s College of Bioresources and Agriculture are used to support sustainable agriculture and food culture based on eco-friendliness and agricultural education.
Sustainable Food Criteria
To promote the UN SDGs and provide a diverse range of healthy food options for faculty, staff, and students, NTU encourages its affiliated food service providers to use ingredients certified under various sustainable food criteria, including "Sustainably Farming/Harvested," "Low Additives," "Low-Carbon & Vegetarian," "Local Production," and "Resource Circulation." These criteria encompass CAS-certified agricultural products, organic certification, animal welfare certifications, halal certification, and traceable agricultural products. Additionally, the "use of certified ingredients" has been incorporated as one of the criteria for selecting contracted vendors, and relevant information will be made available on NTU's website.
Sustainable dining related activities and plans
1. Food Safety
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MOE campus food ingredients registration platform.
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Regular food inspection.
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On-site inspections of food safety and sanitation.
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Food safety and sanitation education and training.
2. “Low-carbon Food” Education & Training
“Low-carbon food” courses educate food service providers about cherishing food, reducing food waste, using local ingredients, and shortening the distance between farm and table. The idea is for them to jointly “cherish 100% of food to achieve zero food waste.”
3. Sustainable ingredients
Create a sustainable ingredients webpage and encourage campus restaurants to use ingredients with eco-friendly, animal welfare, and organic certifications. Incorporating “Use of Certified Ingredients” as a criterion for evaluating and selecting contract vendors, highlighting the importance of ingredient traceability and sourcing.
4. Guidelines for Minimizing the Use of Disposable Utensils and Packaged Bottled Water
In accordance with net-zero regulations, NTU eliminates disposable dining supplies at meetings and events, while campus restaurants adopt pricing policies to reduce disposable tableware use.
5. Carbon-Neutral + Healthy Diet project
Prof. Wen-Ling Adela Chen from the College of Public Health implemented the “Carbon-Neutral + Healthy Diet” project, in which the carbon footprint of meals served in student restaurants was calculated and classified as low, medium, or high carbon emissions. This information is displayed in restaurants for diners to consider.
6. Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture, Livestock, and Aquatic Products
NTU Farm actively assists teachers and students with teaching, internships, trials, and research projects. Besides demonstrating sustainable development, NTU Farm highlights the environmental features of a farm and provides plenty of green space for environmental, ecological, and agricultural education. NTU Farm Exhibition Store offers a wide range of sustainably farmed food on campus, including milk, beard, ice cream, yogurt, and tea, all produced by NTU farm. The store also sells sustainable agriculture products from reliable farmer's associations.
7. Muslim Friendly Restaurant
8. Nudging Plant-Based Choices through System Optimization
To promote sustainable dining on campus, the NTU Office of Sustainability collaborated with the NTU Secretariat and the Computer and Information Networking Center. In July 2025, NTU adjusted the default dining option in the “NTU Activity Registration System” to “Vegetarian,” enhancing the visibility and selection of plant-based meals. Postimplementation data showed increases in both the number and proportion of users selecting vegetarian meals, indicating that default settings can have a meaningful impact on dietary choices. In addition, the Office of Sustainability collaborated with the Office of General Affairs and the Office of Student Affairs to survey the availability of plant-based meals across campus restaurants. The findings were provided to the Animal Rights Club to support its promotion of plant-based diet initiatives and related administrative coordination.
