Iowa State’s International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) will host a community meal event for students staying in Ames over fall break. 

The fall community meal will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

Any students staying in Ames are welcome to sign up and bring their families. 

“It’s the best thing when kids are running around — it actually feels like a holiday,” said Navya Mannengi, international student engagement coordinator for the ISSO.

Doors will open at 11:30 a.m., and people can eat as much as they want from noon to 2 p.m. After that, there will be board games and fun activities to participate in. 

Iowa State’s dining hall services will cater the food. There will be a wide variety of food options for nearly every dietary restriction. 

“The reason why we do these fall break events is to make sure no one feels alone […] If people just want to come because they need community, I want them to come,” Mannengi said. 

The directors of Multicultural Student Success kickstarted this event. They wanted to create a meal service event after noticing many international students stayed in Ames over the fall break. 

ISSO then partnered with the directors of Multicultural Student Success to make the event even bigger. Turnout numbers went from 50 people to around 500 people. Mannengi said she hopes this event becomes an annual tradition at Iowa State. 

For those worried about COVID-19 safety, to-go boxes will be available for those who feel uncomfortable eating at the Great Hall. 

The fall community meal is completely free. The sign-up form is available at https://isso.dso.iastate.edu/get-involved/upcoming-events.