AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) - UMass Amherst is ranked number one in the best college food, and its dining program on campus is introducing students to all the local agriculture has to offer. "Agriculture impacts everybody. We all eat three meals a day," shared Gideon Porth, Owner of Atlas Farm. UMass Dining is feeding its students well and making a mark on this planet with its green footprint. The college's dining services use locally grown ingredients year-round. Thursday evening, UMass Dining hosted its 7th Annual Dining for A Cooler Planet, hosted in the Hampshire Dining Commons with a menu made from ingredients grown by local farms. "We include a local icon on all of our menu identifiers so any student can identify what dishes have local ingredients in them," shared Kathy Wicks, Director of Sustainability with UMass Dining Services. Students were drawn to the variety on Thursday's menu, "The Hainanese Chicken Rice Bowl I think it says, um it's fantastic, you always see new stuff around here," shared Forest Sherson, Sophomore at UMass. Plus, a full circle moment for a local farmer and owner of Atlas Farm, Gideon Porth "The chefs were up the Pesto pizza, with our heirloom tomatoes on it, it looks very lovely." Some students left Thursday dinner impressed with the local impact of the food they are eating and its effect on the environment. "You aren't necessarily able to continue extravagant food, and the amount of food waste that we have and just general food that goes unused is frankly terrible," shared K.N. Viala, a Freshman at UMass Amherst. Staff and students on Thursday took part in dining for a cooler planet all while the UMass community enjoyed their local greens, all part of a sustainability solution. Local News Headlines 22News Storm Team meterologist Brian Lapis speaks to Springfield Naturalists Club Portion of Chipotle sales to benefit Gray House in feeding more families through the Greater Springfield area Northampton breaks ground on 60 new affordable units Dining for a cooler planet returns to UMass Amherst for 7th year WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.