MU students look off-campus to eat kosher during Passover
Beth Lawrence began thinking about Passover back in January.
The eight-day holiday, which started Saturday, celebrates the exodus of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. Practicing Jews must adhere to special kosher dietary restrictions during Passover — a difficult task for college students with small kitchens and even smaller budgets.
When she transferred to MU from the University of Iowa last year, Lawrence found that keeping kosher for Passover wasn’t easy. Campus Dining Services offered choices that were “Passover-friendly,” but some of those items had not been prepared according to Jewish law, which, among other things, forbids leavened bread.
So Lawrence, an MU junior, began working with Campus Dining on behalf of the approximately 600 Jewish students on campus. After several negotiations, Campus Dining agreed to refund nearly 60 percent of the cost of a weekly meal plan to interested Jewish students for Passover.
“This year I decided, especially with this push toward diversity, that it would be a good time to try and get a Passover meal refund to happen,” she said.
Campus Dining will refund the cost of food and labor to students who have chosen one of five meal plans offered in the residence halls; the other 40 percent of the cost is retained for fixed costs, such as maintaining the building, said Steve Simpson of Campus Dining Services.
Two dozen students are receiving the refunds. They can be used to purchase kosher lunches and dinners at the Hillel Foundation, which typically offers only weekly Sabbath dinners. Kerry Hollander, the director of the Hillel Foundation, said the refund policy makes it easier for students in MU’s residence halls to keep kosher.
“It’s a recognition of the diverse student population that we have on campus,” she said.
To prepare its kitchen for special kosher Passover meals, the Hillel Foundation cleans its building of all leavened bread products and replaces them with matzo, a cracker-like bread that is eaten in memory of the Hebrews who were forced to flee Egypt so quickly that their bread did not have time to rise. Other kosher traditions kept by the foundation include the elimination of pork and shell-fish products and the separation of meat and dairy products.
Students who receive the Passover refund will still be able to use their Campus Dining meal plan. The Rollins dining hall offers “Passover-friendly” items, as well as a special electric grill for Jewish students who request that their food be cooked away from non-kosher items. Matzo, macaroons and disposable utensils are also available in Rollins.
It is not cost effective to have a completely kosher kitchen on the MU campus, Simpson said. However, he added, Campus Dining tries to accommodate students with special dietary needs in its various meal plans. Lawrence is pleased that Campus Dining Services was so willing to work with her so that future students will be able to keep kosher during an important Jewish holiday.
“It’s something they feel very strong about continuing to do that’s just a large part of Jewish faith,” she said. “It’s a very important holiday as far as remembering the struggles of our ancestors.”