The Memorial Union was buzzing with food and cultural activity, unlike a typical Saturday morning on a college campus.

The International Food Fair took place Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

Twelve international student associations served food from their nations and cultures.

Entry for the event was $3 and tickets for food were $1 with each group designating a certain amount of tickets for the food they made.

A variety of nations and continents were represented including Africa, Asia Pacific and Asia America, Malaysia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

An even larger variety of food was served at the event.

The African Students Association served its infamous lime cake and the Vietnamese International Students Association at Iowa State University had a line throughout the entire event for its coveted three-color dessert.

Other popular dishes included a variety of rice options, tea and sushi.

Although the International Food Fair typically takes place during the week of Veishea, members of associations had mixed feelings about the turnout for the event.

“If it was Veishea, we would have cooked more,” said Waasay Mirza, president of the Pakistan Student Association. “If it [International Food Fair] was held during Veishea, it would have been a double turn out.”

“Without Veishea, I do think there is less population, but I do think the people who are interested have still come,” said Chukwudike C-madu, president of the African Students Association.

Other members had a positive attitude about the event.

“I’d say it’s pretty good. Last semester, we did good with International Food Fair without Veishea. It is sad that Veishea is gone [but] we’re doing pretty good and were trying our best to make it a fun event for everybody and a welcome event for all the students,” said Yuma Izumi, president of the Japanese Association.

“We had a very good turnout today, which I’m really happy about. We do miss Veishea, but we’re happy this event took place and wasn’t cancelled,” said Prerana Ganguly, treasurer of the Indians Students’ Association.

Overall, many associations were satisfied with the outcome of the International Food Fair.

“Good job [International Student Council], this is very good,” said Farahaini Abdul Rahim, vice president of the Association of Malaysian Students at ISU.

“I think this is a great event, we represent our culture and you can see that everybody in here, they try their best to show everybody their culture through food,” said Hiep Tran, cook for the Vietnamese International Students Association at Iowa State University. “This is the best opportunity for international students to show American people and all the people from different countries their culture around Iowa State.”