The International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) and campus partners hosted the Fall Community Meal in the Great Hall in the Memorial Union on Tuesday.
The doors opened at 11 a.m., with food served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Attendees enjoyed a Kahoot game and other activities from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Jenna Haffner, the International Student Engagement Coordinator for ISSO, said the Fall Community Meal is a joint effort between ISSO and other offices on campus. They know that there are many students on campus over break who need support, so they collaborate with others to ensure they reach as many students, faculty, staff and community members as possible.
Haffner said the main goals of the event are to reduce the feeling of isolation over the fall break, build connections between students, community members and the ISU office and provide a free meal option for food-insecure folks during the holidays.
“I’m excited to see new and familiar faces,” Haffner said. “I love checking folks in as they arrive because it gives me a chance to see the 500+ people who benefit from this event. I am also excited about our large-group Kahoot game I have planned after the meal. There are the following categories: ISSO Trivia, Thanksgiving Trivia, Midwest Trivia, Christmas Trivia and Winter Trivia.”
Haffner said the food they serve resembles a traditional American Thanksgiving meal, with turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, pies and hot apple cider. To accommodate Iowa State’s international population, included in this meal were halal and vegan turkey options as well as vegetable lasagna.
“The first Fall Community Meal was back in 2014 and welcomed just a few dozen students,” Haffner said. “Since then, we have been able to reach more people each year with attendance continuing to grow and offices reaching out to assist. Last year, we had over 500 attendees.”
Haffner has attended three community meals, but last fall was their favorite one.
“A few students from my First-Year International Seminar courses stayed after the meal, and we all played a board game together, which was really fun,” Haffner said. “I have always really enjoyed connecting with students and community members at this event.”
Haffner added that they normally start a few months in advance since this is their biggest event of the semester apart from the International Student Graduation Celebration.
“The first step I do is work with the wonderful MU event coordinators to make sure we can reserve the Great Hall and accommodate the number of people we normally expect,” Haffner said. “Once that is confirmed, I talk with the ISU Catering team to narrow down the menu items and serving times. After that, the Programming Graduate Assistant and I reached out to offices interested in supporting the event. Finally, once promotional materials are finalized and distributed, we wait until the event itself.”
Ristu Regmi, a freshman in computer science from Nepal, said Haffner is her International First Year Seminar class instructor.
“They have been talking about this all through the class, and it felt really interesting,” Regmi said. “There have been lots of posters and promotions of this event everywhere, and I thought it was a really good gesture for students who are still here.”
“We are international students, so a new experience for us as well,” Anusha Sharma, a freshman in business analytics, said. “That’s why we wanted to try.”
Regmi said she loved the songs and that the overall atmosphere of the event was really good and very welcoming.
“I’ve been loving the songs,” Regmi said. “We heard a Nepali song as well, and it was the first time we heard a Nepali song here in the U.S. that is played by the U.S. and the university itself, so that was really good.”
Sharma and Regmi said they really enjoyed the mashed potatoes and apple cider.
“We love everyone coming together and having fun,” Sharma said.
Regmi said they would like to see more winter-related activities.
“Like snow, skiing,” Regmi said. “It is the first time for us to experience the U.S. winter, so maybe something related to that would be nice.”
For more information on ISSO, visit their website.
