A vegetarian diet consists of plant foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes. These plant foods are loaded with health-promoting ingredients such as fiber, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. Plants are also cholesterol free, and almost all are low in saturated fat. A diet rich in plant foods has been shown to lower the risk of: heart disease, cancer (especially colon and lung), type II diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.

Housing and Dining Services designates on the menus that items marked with a {M} are meatless, and items marked with a {V} are without meat, eggs, or dairy ingredients.