<p>Also, remember than meals are big social times. Take that into account if a school offers kosher, but separate, dining options as opposed to kosher food in the main dining halls. I believe the University of Chicago and Wash U also offer kosher food.</p>
<p>How kosher is kosher? Even Orthodox authorities frequently disagree on heksher, organic foods, degree of supervision, ingredients, and a host of other things. So all one can do is: (1) make sure where applicable packaged food has some reasonable heksher (e.g. OU, Kof-K); (2) make sure the food is prepared under rabbinical supervision on a daily basis. If that's not enough, all that remains is to bring ones own food :-)))</p>
<p>I agree with you, but the orignial poster may not care so much, which is why I ask.</p>
<p>Thanks! Well, I'm actually Muslim so I'm okay with eating shellfish, but kosher as in the meat is killed and prepared under the "right" way meaning under prayer and facing...well..<em>blush</em> the holy direction. I don't know exactly what the Jewish killing system is, but I would assume since my sister buys kosher meat (in Flint, Michigan) and my parents don't freak over that, it's okay.</p>
<p>Oberlin has a Kosher/Halal dining co-op.</p>
<p>One of the things you may want to check on is the type of kosher food available. Some cafeterias that advertise "kosher food" simply have a few pick-up items or the kind of frozen meals you'd get on an airplane.....more like a glorified "TV dinner" than anything else." In some cases, you would heat these up on your own in a particular microwave. Other colleges like Brandeis, Cornell, or BU will have a complete kosher dining line with many choices. I would definitely make a list of schools you're interested in and contact them for further information. </p>
<p>If you have trouble getting reliable info from the college itself, you can contact the staff at the campus Hillel. They can usually tell you exactly what is and isn't offered.</p>
<p>Thanks, Cami215. It never occured to me that the type of food might be from "TV dinner" to "cooked, cafeteria style"...I always assumed the latter. <em>grin</em> Thank you very much.</p>
<p>Interestingly I worked on this when I was on student government at Dartmouth. We altered the "TV dinner" in a fridge policy to having probably the nicest full out Halal/ Kosher dining facility anywhere. The best part is its adjacent to the main dining hall so I would often get my food there (best food on campus) and bring it to the main dining hall 20 feet away.</p>
<p>That sounds soo fantastic but <em>grrr</em> I'm not really Dartmouth material. <em>droops</em> Or WashU or UChicago or the other competitive/selective ones...</p>
<p>Izzy,</p>
<p>Check the Hillel site. I know there are a number of state schools, especially in the east, that have some kind of arrangements for kosher....</p>
<p>Thanks, everybody for contributing. Checked out the Hillel site and though I got lost the first few minutes <em>embarrassed</em>, I found the search engine. I suppose I'm interested in the ones offering the full Kosher Plan or the 1-12 meal plan, unless I can order Kosher food through Hillel and cook for myself. Must go research. <em>determined growl</em></p>
<p>i go to GW and there is no satisfiable kosher/halal option available. yes, they do sell some kosher/halal food in the grocery store, but there is no dining option and one cannot eat well being kosher here. the university still refuses to give kosher/halal food despite requests every semester.</p>
<p>Thank goodness then, that I'm not considering GW... (I'm not of a very political mindset and don't like the DC area) Are you Muslim or Jewish? Did your list of uni/colleges when applying also take kosher/halal food into consideration?</p>
<p>just reminding you again -- hillel site is a great starting point - but you then have to check with the individual school as to how exactly they provide the meals -- the info at the hillel site can sometimes make it sound like the food is more readily available than it may be.
good luck</p>
<p>Yep, been doing that. A little confused about how to navigate their (school's) site specifically to find about dining and whether available to non-Jewish students, especially if Services are also given at the same time. One reason why I really like Mt. Holyoke...</p>
<p>Izzy - i just did a yahoo search and found the following site for the Muslim Accomodation Task Force <a href="http://www.msa-natl.org/matf/index.php%5B/url%5D">www.msa-natl.org/matf/index.php</a> which seems to be a guide for Muslim college students. it has a link for a database for info on halal food at colleges.
I know nothing about this site other than it came up in the yahoo search, but maybe it'll be of help to you.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>You are the best.</p>
<p>im jewish but jews and muslims alike are fighting for a comprehensive dining option</p>
<p>Ah, cool. A pal of mine is considering GWU but she doesn't have to worry about her food. I'm a little peeved that (being int'l students and) not having enough money to fly and visit schools in the summer (though not exactly the best time to get the feeling of a campus) makes the choice of university/college so blind, sometimes!</p>
<p>I went to the MSA website and I really like how they have more than just Halal food, but also Wudu and Praying rooms and Imams and everything, that are considered. Thorough. If only the list was longer!</p>
<p>Go, Mount Holyoke!!!</p>
<p>"I'm a little peeved that (being int'l students and) not having enough money to fly and visit schools in the summer (though not exactly the best time to get the feeling of a campus) makes the choice of university/college so blind, sometimes!"</p>
<p>Have you been able to check if any of the schools you are looking at have International Student and/or Muslim Student Associations that you can contact to try to get more information?</p>