Jewish and Muslim student groups request kosher, halal food options on Hill

In a display of interfaith solidarity, representatives from Jewish and Muslim student groups are working to get more kosher and halal food options offered on the Hill.

Halal and kosher foods are prepared to meet certain requirements of Muslim and Jewish law, respectively. The student groups, including the Muslim Student Association and the Jewish Student Union, have worked together since fall quarter to procure better access to foods that meet their dietary restrictions. The student groups met with representatives of UCLA Dining Services in January to discuss the possibility of expanding kosher and halal items on Hill menus.

“For students who keep kosher, or want to keep kosher, or live in the dorms, the options are very, very limited,” said Raquel Saxe, a fourth-year political science student who serves as co-president of the Jewish Student Union. “The same can be said of halal food.”

Kashif Iqbal, a second-year biology student and member of the Muslim Student Association, said there are currently no halal offerings on the Hill.

Although there are currently kosher sandwiches offered at Bruin Cafe, UCLA Dining Services did not specify whether they offer halal options in an email statement to the Daily Bruin.

Universities such as Stanford, UC San Diego and UC Riverside all already offer some sort of halal food on their campuses, according to the universities’ websites. Stanford and UC San Diego also offer kosher options.

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, co-director of the Jewish Learning Initiative On Campus, said kosher meals are available at a cafe in the Hillel building, located just off campus on Hilgard Avenue The food, however, is only available during lunch hours, he said.

Saxe said the only kosher options available to UCLA students on the Hill right now are kosher sandwiches sometimes available in Bruin Cafe and that these are not always offered.

The sandwiches can be purchased for three meal swipes, two meal swipes in addition to a $4 charge, or for a flat rate of $8.75.

According to Daily Bruin archives, UCLA Dining Services had plans to offer hot kosher meals in 2007, but such a plan is not currently in operation.

Some students have had health problems due to the lack of kosher options.

“From a personal standpoint, I got sick my freshman year because of my lack of iron intake because I wasn’t eating meat anymore,” Saxe said. “I wasn’t really aware of how to impact my diet positively, so I became anemic.”

Steven Wolf, a third-year computer science student and a member of the Jewish Student Union, described his experience of having trouble finding substantial meals on campus due to the lack of kosher food.

In an email statement, UCLA Dining Services said they are looking into the matter of offering kosher and halal foods.

“UCLA Dining is always working to improve the student experience and to make sure every student has delicious, healthy foods that they can enjoy,” said UCLA spokeswoman Alison Hewitt in an emailed statement. She also stated that further research is needed in regards to kosher and halal food options on the Hill.

The research is part of the UC-wide campus climate study, the statement read.

Some students stated their belief that change would happen in small increments.

“I think ORL will take some action, we don’t expect it to be that large just because it is very challenging to try to change food policy, and it is challenging to get a new vendor,” Iqbal said.

Saxe said there has been tension between Jewish and Muslim students at UCLA and across the country over such things as political issues before explaining that this represents a rare instance of cooperation between Muslim and Jewish student groups at UCLA.

Iqbal pointed out that although the  groups have organized small-scale events together in the past, this represents one of the first big projects both communities have worked on together at UCLA.

“Hopefully we will encourage more partnership and cooperation in the future,” Saxe said. “One of the Jewish students invited one of the Muslim students to have lunch at Hillel; it’s really opened a lot of doors and friendships in a way that we might otherwise keep to our own.”

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