Arizona State University introducing kosher meals on campus

Students who observe kosher laws have a new campus choice: Arizona State University.

The Tempe school, home to at least 3,500 Jews, will feature kosher lunches and dinners starting this fall at the Hassayampa Academic Village Dining Hall.

The move is “enabling Jewish students to easily follow kosher dietary laws,” the university said.

Rabbi Shmuel Tiechtel, director of the ASU Chabad, said he was contacted by Jewish students and parents who were “eager” to get kosher food on campus.

“Thousands of Jewish students come to Arizona State and find a welcoming, positive Jewish community experience here,” Tiechtel said. “But kosher meal options take our Jewish provision to another level, making ASU truly one of the best places in America to be a Jewish student.”

The Hillel Jewish Student Center also has worked with the university to bring kosher food to campus.

“I have found ASU to be a strong and active partner in making the university increasingly more welcoming for Jewish students who keep kosher,” said Debbie Yunker Kail, executive director of the Hillel Jewish Student Center.

Kosher food had been difficult to find, said Hannah Widawer, an ASU senior.

“For a long time, kosher food was only accessible by car, unless I went to Chabad for food,” said Widawer, who is majoring in tourism development and management.

“It’s great that we’ll have another dining option while I’m at school. I think that the kosher meals on campus will allow many Jews to consider applying to Arizona State when they couldn’t before. It’s a huge step for the growth of the Jewish student community.”