The International Food Festival celebrates cultural diversity on Union’s campus for the third year in a row by representing 11 countries and their cuisine.
On April 11 the Bowld gym was packed with people and a plethora of food from different countries made by students and faculty of the International Student Union. Most of the students from the ISU created dishes from their home countries and sold them to customers.
Tables themed from a variety of countries offered delicacies. Attendees bought the food with a set of pre-paid tickets that acted as money and ranged in price.
“It’s a good way to socialize and find common ground. And it’s food and a lot of college students love food,” said Elisabeth Kristensen, junior broadcast journalism major and vice president of the ISU.
The represented countries varied from Norway to Asia and students were able to try food from places all over the world. The students and faculty involved in the festival spent hours preparing food for over 150 people in a two day time frame.
“It’s a great way to get to know people and to interact with people you have never met before,” said Cherish Lo, junior economics and mathematics double major.
The International Food Festival is held every year by the ISU. Anyone can who wants to represent their background and is willing to share it others is welcome to participate in the festival. Different cultures are encouraged to participate and share what they love most about where they come from.
“Anybody from the community; they don’t even have to be students here at Union. Anybody can share a dish,” Kristensen said.
For the future of the International Food Festival, growth and expansion are two things that Kristensen and Lo would like to see happen.
“I would like to see more community participation,” Lo said. “By nature of who we are, we don’t really know anybody here sometimes. I would really like to see a partnership with another organization that has a connection with the community to spread the word better.”
