Targeting zero hunger among students and staff

Free and affordable food choices

ITU serves free soup (BEE SOUP -free of charge-) every morning at the Ayazağa campus entrance. Students may have their soup at the entrance of the campus before going to their morning classes.

The Dining-hall of ITU releases its daily lunch and dinner menu at their website and app. The price of the menu for students and staff is also stated on the website. Lunch costs 50 cents and dinner is 66 cents in ITU campuses.

Detailed information on supply chain and nutrition of the food is available at their website.

Please see the following links to find more about food services in ITU.

Food Delivery Service

ITU continues to offer its students and faculty members the opportunity to experience the current possibilities of developing autonomous technologies. With the collaboration of ITU and Yemeksepeti; students, faculty members and employees have the opportunity to start the day with hot “Bee Soup” free of charge. The soup distribution service at the Arı Kapı entrance in our Ayazağa Campus continues this year as in previous years.

Free Drinking Water

Water dispensers are placed at different points to ensure that students have access to free drinking water. The images show the water dispensers at the Taşkışla Campus.

Filtered water dispensers in faculty buildings

ITU  provide interventions to prevent hunger

Efforts are continuing to put programmes in place to prevent student food insecurity/hunger. ITU Lunch Scholarship (free of charge lunch) was provided for 1263 students in 2023 which is 210 students more than the previous year. Also, 205 students received accommodation scholarships.

The university is asking the alumni and current members if they can donate for the lunch scholarship and 550,000 TL scholarship collected in the previous year.  Also, 608.753 TL for lunch scholarship and 240.730 TL for accommodation scholarship have been collected.

Food scholarships are provided by our University's Scholarships and Dormitories Coordinatorship so that our students who are studying at our university and experiencing financial difficulties can benefit from the lunch service offered in the cafeteria of our University's Health, Culture and Sports Department free of charge.

Sustainable, healthy and affordable food choices in Campus

All food outlets within ITU Campuses contain various sustainable food choices. Four kitchens and twenty one cafeteria of different capacities are working at all the ITU Campuses affiliated to the Catering Branch Directorate. These facilities provide meals for students and staff. In ITU Dining Halls Affiliated to the Catering Branch Directorate, vegan, vegetarian and gluten free main dishes are served every day. Students benefit from vegetarian, vegan and gluten free food options at the same price as other options. Alternative options are available in different cafeterias.

Annual ITU Dinner Program for Students and Staff

ITU celebrates a religious event through its free dinner program every year. The dinner is provided free of charge for students and staff.

Learning food security and sustainable agriculture in ITU

Safe and Sustainable Food Commission of ITU has established a special event on World Food Day, which is open to the public and free so that interested local farmers and producers can participate. Graduates of the Food Engineering Department who are also local producers and entrepreneurs give speeches at the event. The next event “World Food Day: Future of Food Symposium” will be organized in 2023 together with FAO-Türkiye.

Every year, there are around 60 students who graduate from agriculture and aquaculture courses including sustainability aspects.

ITU welcomes local farmers and food producers  

The Food Service System of ITU prefers to use products from local food sources. Additionally, members of the Food Engineering Department have worked in two collaborative research projects with the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies – Fruit Research Institute. Project topics include determination of quality criteria of agricultural products and supply chain-oriented determination of Breeding Goals.

Istanbul Technical University participates in developing the knowledge and skills of local farmers and food producers. ITU Food Engineering Department offers a comprehensive analytical and testing service to support the needs of the local farmers and food producers. The Department provides specific technical expertise and can organize special educational programs and workshops to fit the producers' needs. (Please click for services and laboratories.)

Additionally, ITU takes active roles in promoting technological advancement and innovation to generate startups and enhance the industrial sector with their project. (please click for projects , agriculture projects, a collaborative project.)

Moreover, ITU collaborated with Cargill and various stakeholders for Sustainable Agriculture.

Track Organic Food Waste in ITU

The consumption of food and water is affected by the campus population which varies in ITU due to its public facilities. Along with students and employees, many local people enter the university campuses throughout the day. Therefore, the food waste is greatly affected by the visitors’ activities.

The amount of Food Waste in Dining Halls Affiliated to the Catering Branch Directorate is 69590 kg per year.

The organic waste is separated at the source in the dining hall. Waste was transported from the TS to the Kısırmandıra Facility and/or Seymen Landfill. The Kısırmandıra Facility   is an Integrated WM facility that encompasses both MRF and composting facilities. Food waste generated in Dining Halls sent to Kısırmandıra Facility. 

the Kısırmandıra Facility (KF)

The amount of food waste in Dining Halls affiliated to the catering branch directorate is decreased in 2023. This is because various steps have been taken to ensure less packaged food consumption and reduce packaging waste is used.

The organic waste is separated at the source in the dining hall.

Separation also takes place in canteens.

Sustainable Energy Production Facility and source separation for the facility (Anaerobic Digestion for Food Waste).