IIT Kharagpur has around 15 hostels and guest houses for both girls and boys. The Hall Management Center has allotted each hostel its own private tender to serve food and thus every hostel has different quality and range of food served.

The first-year students are allotted the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hall the menu of which is excellent. 

• Breakfast: 7-9 am: Breakfast includes Dosa, Puri, Poha, Paratha, and Idli during weekdays. The other option that is always available is Bread and Jam/Butter. For extras, you can get a Banana, boiled egg, and tea or milk. 
• Lunch 12 pm to 1: 30 pm: The students are given a food chart to choose from during weekdays except Sundays when Biryani is served. In the initial period of stay, each student is given the choice of veg and non-veg. On average, 2 days of all-veg is served while the remaining days have options.
• 4pm-6 pm: Panipuri, Dahivada, Momos, and Samosa are the snacks available during weekdays.
• Dinner 7-8:45 pm: Dinner is served on the basis of your choice of veg or non-veg with options of chicken/paneer served twice a week. Tadka dal and sambar are always available.

Apart from the routine mess food, there is also a Nescafe just outside the hall. Each hostel has a night canteen which runs till 3 am to satisfy midnight cravings.

Special dinner takes place twice a semester before the mid sem examination and end sem examination.