Two of Carleton’s student unions are pushing the university’s dining services for greater kosher options, but have yet to produce final plans.
According to Meera Chander, Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) vice-president (finance), the issue of providing kosher food on campus has been “under the radar of a lot of people for a while.”
“[CUSA’s] going to do the best we possibly can, but the issue is the feasibility of it,” Chander said.
The difficulty is finding a place to cook the meat. The equipment to cook kosher meat has to be completely segregated from the meat itself, and finding a space for a kosher-only grill is the problem, Chander said.
Aramark Canada, the management behind many of the university’s food services, offers some kosher, but not enough for an entire day, said Alexandra Iszo, Carleton president of Hillel Ottawa, a Jewish campus organization.
“There are a lot of students who keep kosher who have to leave campus to get their food,” Iszo said. “The right to eat on campus is one that should be shared by all students.”
Hashem Hamdy, a public affairs councillor for CUSA, brought the kosher issue up at a meeting in September, after he said a few students approached him wanting to address it.
“We satisfy the vegetarian requirement, and the halal requirement,” Hamdy said. “If CUSA really wants to be inclusive, they should satisfy the kosher requirement.”
The university’s residence cafeteria, the Fresh Food Company, has yet to truly see kosher as a worthwhile venture, despite having the food services committee on board, said Ariel Norman, Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) vice-president administration.
“They said not enough students use it to make it worthwhile,” Norman said. “We have to have the numbers to affect any kind of change.”
Lorne Kostove, a second-year law student who lives in residence, said he identifies himself as as a follower of “kosher style.” He keeps the ideals of kosher by not consuming milk or pork, but still eats meat not cooked in the kosher manner.
“Eating in the cafeteria isn’t possible for a truly observant Jewish [person],” Kostove said. “A real Jewish Orthodox person needs a full kosher kitchen.”
To cope, Kostove generally opts for halal, offered at the Fresh Food Company and Rooster’s, which he said he believes shares similar rules to kosher.
“But a real Orthodox Jewish doesn’t find halal suitable,” Kostove said.
Kosher meat, however, would benefit campus since it satisfies both Jewish dietary laws and halal eating individuals, Chander said.
“It would be great to get the kosher option, and that way we can satisfy both, but we’d have to renovate,” she said.
“If the push for kosher affects the cafeteria, I would be more inclined to follow the diet,” Kostove said. “But it’s a possibility only if there’s real demand, because it’s a big undertaking.”
Nevertheless, RRRA and CUSA continue to look into options that will benefit those who ask for kosher.
At this time, CUSA is looking into an outside supplier for kosher, at a reasonable price, though there are no definite plans, Chander said.
“Students also want to see kosher meat and these are things that we’re going to cater to,” Chander said. “If they want it, we’ll bring it.”