For the past 12 years, the International Food Festival has been an opportunity for students and faculty to enjoy and share the various cultures present on campus, and this year was no different. Hosted by the International Student Organization (ISO), it filled the University Commons with different student clubs and small groups that served their cooking to the crowd milling about in between the tables. At each table, there was a QR code for people to scan to vote for their favorite foods, with the winners announced at the end of the night. 

This year, the first-place club was the Asian-Pacific Islander Student Alliance (APISA), followed by the Latinx Student Alliance (LSA), with the Black Student Alliance (BSA) coming in third. Among the small groups, first place was taken by Kurdistan, with Ethiopia as the runner-up, and Albania placing in third. Altogether, 11 teams participated in the festival, all of whom worked hard to cook and serve food that they felt represented their own cultures. 

  Nathan Miller, a junior, said “the best thing I had was the lasagna,” which was served by the Albanian table. Miller was hopeful that Albania would go on to win, and went on to mention he felt this year was even better than the other International Food Festivals he had been to.

Lydia Longacre, a senior, said although “all the food was spectacular,” she especially enjoyed the food made by the Latinx Student Alliance (LSA), who served tostadas and horchata. Longacre went on to say, “It’s really special to have an event on campus that brings so many people together.” This could be seen even after the food was cleaned up and people began to trickle away, since there were still plenty of people left talking and dancing.

Hothaifa Abusamra, a graduate biomedicine student from Syria, was one of the cooks for the Palestine table. Abusamra had heard about the food festival from the Peacebuilding and Justice core center. Abusamra and the other person manning the table, Younis Alhallaq, decided to cook and serve shawarma and kabsa for the event. Abusamra said they chose these dishes because they are common dishes in many Arabic countries.

Although there were limited spots for winners, all the people and cultures that were represented at the International Food Festival worked hard to help share their culture through food, and show the diversity here at Eastern Mennonite University. ISO also worked hard to get the festival organized, and make sure it ran smoothly. Hopefully, the International Food Festival will continue to be put on for many more years.