Students who keep Jewish dietary laws have a new place to grab a
bite between classes, as UCLA Hillel now offers a kosher lunch
program.
The Shack at Hillel, located at 574 Hilgard Ave., which began
serving students Tuesday, is a kosher meat facility serving
sandwiches, salads and burgers, among other items. Hillel officials
estimated that in the first two hours the facility was open, it
served about 70 community members. Currently, lunch is the only
meal offered.
Students who keep kosher, the Jewish laws governing food
consumption, cannot eat meat unless it has been specially
slaughtered and prepared. Most meat served in campus eateries is
not kosher, and the four campus dining halls do not have kosher
meat. Students and officials at Hillel said they have been working
toward implementing a kosher dining facility at Hillel since the
building opened in 2002.
“It’s really exciting because it’s been a
dream of ours,” said Andy Green, a fifth-year
mathematics-economics and political science student and
Hillel’s student representative.
Green said the opening of the dining room is part of a larger
effort to get more kosher dining options on campus.
Last year, some students began a push to introduce kosher dining
to the residential Hill. This year, Dining Services brought some
kosher sandwiches and pastries into Bruin Café, said Connie
Foster, associate director of housing and hospitality services.
Green said it is nice to have a dining room devoted to serving
kosher food.
“(Bruin Café’s new kosher menu) is not the
scope that this facility offers,” he said. “I think
that really what we’re trying to do is maximize the kosher
options on campus.”
Students who ate lunch at the Shack on its first day of
operation generally praised the quality of the food.
“They do a good job, and it’s healthy,” said
Julie Pinchak, a second-year undeclared student who ordered pea
soup and a side salad.
But Pinchak did say the cost of eating at Hillel might become an
issue.
Meals average about $7, and starting winter quarter, students
will be able to purchase meal plans that will give them a 15
percent discount on the price of a regular meal. Pinchak said even
this discount is not convenient for students who already have a
regular residential meal plan.
“Affordability is the only problem,” she said.
“I wish you could use the meal plans from the dining
halls.”
No students or Hillel officials involved in the campaign said
this type of program is in the works. Foster said efforts to get
more kosher food on the Hill are ongoing. She said Dining Services
is considering catering hot meals to the dining halls and is
meeting with student groups to identify demand for other kosher
options.
“It seems like the more options we have, the
better,” Foster said.
William Calder, associate director of operations at Hillel, said
Hillel is considering expanding the kosher lunch program to include
delivery and take-out.
All students, regardless if they are Jewish or keep kosher, are
welcome to dine at Hillel, and the Shack is open to other community
members as well.
Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller, the Hillel rabbi, said food served
at the Shack generally fits Muslim students’ dietary
restrictions as well. He added that he thought having a dining
facility devoted specifically to these students’ needs could
help boost community spirit.
“It helps create community,” he said.
“It’s something that’s desirable and needed. It
comes from the idea that tradition has a part in people’s
lives.”
The Shack is located at Hillel on 574 Hilgard Ave. and is
open Monday through Thursday from 11:15 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.