When Jasir Mayat left Pakistan and began undergraduate studies at Colorado State University, he says the school’s dining halls offered few halal options, other than vegetarian and seafood selections. He immediately contacted the school’s housing and dining services, which offered to work with him to help meet Muslim students’ dietary needs. Within his first semester, halal meat and foods were introduced on campus.
As prospective international students research global universities, one concern they may have is regarding the availability of foods that meet their special cultural or religious dietary needs. But many international schools are working to provide a diverse menu, with the prospective international student in mind.
[Find out where the top global universities are in the world.]
Options Catered to Dietary Needs
Prospective international students may have special dietary needs — such as halal, kosher, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian and organic — and schools are aware of and addressing these needs.
“University caterers in the U.K. have been very mindful of the need to cater for international students in a way that makes them feel welcome and at home when they are studying here,” says Matthew White, chair of The University Caterers Organisation.
White says TUCO Academy, a training initiative for in-house caterers, organized both United Kingdom and international study tours for its members to visit key countries where international students hail from — such as China, which sends the most international students to the U.K. As a result, TUCO developed a Chinese cookbook of traditional and authentic recipes for U.K. university caterers.
White, who serves as the catering hotel and conference services director at the University of Reading in the U.K., says the institution added chopsticks and Chinese soup spoons as well as ambient temperature water, a Chinese preference over chilled water, to all dining facilities.
He says authenticity matters — for example, Western jars of curry sauce “will not cut it with international students who are used to Mum’s own daal or curry.” He says chefs need the skills and knowledge to create authentic dishes displayed and served in appealing and familiar ways to international students.
According to Japan’s National Federation of University Co-operative Associations, at least 41 universities, including Hokkaido University, currently offer halal dishes at their cafeterias. Naomi Fujisawa, Hokkaido University Co-op cafeteria section manager, said via email that the cafeteria works with a halal vendor to provide halal foods to students.
“We had considered that there were many international students who need halal food. Tokyo University CO-OP had already started having halal foods, so we, Hokkaido University CO-OP, went there to learn the ways,” said Fujisawa.
Similarly, to meet its students’ needs, last fall the University of California–Berkeley‘s Cal Dining opened the first dining station in the UC system that is certified kosher and also accommodates Muslim, vegetarian and vegan students.
Cal Dining launched a new plant-forward menu — which emphasizes meatless meals that contain whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lentils, chickpeas, nuts and seeds — alongside the kosher station, says Adam M. Ratliff, critical communications manager at UC–Berkeley’s student affairs division. He says the menu intentionally increases the ratio of plant-based foods to animal products without compromising flavor.
“Whether a student is vegan, a vegetarian, they eat kosher or halal, our goal was to provide more options for our diverse student community,” says Ratliff.
[Explore how U.S. universities offer international students a taste of home.]
Student Input Into Menus
Many global universities are working with students to meet their dietary needs by encouraging student feedback on the types of food they would like included on menus.
After Mayat reached out, CSU Housing and Dining Services hired him to survey Muslim student needs, the results of which prompted the inclusion of halal foods on campus. Jeremy Morgan, executive chef with CSU’s residential dining services, says the university continues to provide a variety of halal options daily through the halal program.
“Our online menus are now much easier to navigate and our guests can easily search our menus and filter menus by several preferences, such as allergens, vegan, items containing alcohol, pork, etc.,” says Morgan.
[Discover ways to connect with a religious community as an international student.]
Prospective international students can directly contact most university food services online. For example, the Netherlands-based University of Groningen offers a Food & Drinks webpage that provides everything from dining locations to a service desk for questions about products offered.
The school posts weekly menus on its RUG Food & Drinks Facebook page, and prospective international students can also reach out to university staff via social media.
At the University of Glasgow in the U.K., Scott Girvan, executive chef with hospitality services, says every year the hospitality team surveys students and staff and takes menu item suggestions. “We do listen and we do change,” says Girvan.
Girvan says this has included incorporating everything from vegan, halal and gluten-free options to “now changing our approach to sustainable coffee cups and packaging and local and seasonal foods.”
Pamela Edwards, assistant director of dining services at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, says international students often bring recipes from home that the dining centers use to prepare items. “The students also help with the evaluation process of the recipes, with the goal that the international menu items taste as much like home as possible,” says Edwards.
Having personally influenced the CSU menu, Mayat encourages prospective international students to plan to voice their dietary concerns.
“Take charge and take action, and I am sure universities worldwide will be more than happy to at the very least have that conversation with you,” says Mayat.
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Global Universities Adapt Menus for International Students originally appeared on usnews.com
