Twenty different clubs have been established since Ivy Club first came on the scene in 1879, all to provide a special dining, social, and educational environment for their members in magnificent and distinctive buildings. Each club, which is self owned and independent of each other and of the University, has its own membership and has molded a unique personality that gradually evolves over time.  Eleven of the clubs still operate for their original purposes; however, over the years others have faced financial and membership problems and have been forced to close their doors.

By the early 1990s, all of the clubs had become coeducational. The clubs are governed and operated by undergraduate officers, and they all have professional staff to handle business functions and to run the kitchen and maintain the clubhouse and property. In 2018, nine of the eleven club undergraduate presidents were female. Alumni boards of governors also oversee the clubs.

The make-up of the clubs is approximately 50% male and 50% female, and the clubs collectively include over two thirds of all juniors and seniors at the University as members. They also allow second semester sophomores as members with limited dining privileges.

From year to year, club members have become increasingly diverse from an economic, minority, geographic, and political standpoint. As a result, each club takes on an evolving composition over time, thus creating different objectives and interests among and within clubs. The clubs continually strive to make sure that everyone is included in their community.

All of the eating clubs are included within the Princeton Historic District which is on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places. They also are included within the Municipality of Princeton's Prospect Avenue Historic District, which was established in 2022.

For more information on the eating clubs, visit princetoneatingclubs.org.