Food can be one of the most important ways in which people connect with their culture or their faith. Queen’s Hospitality Services supports students from a variety of backgrounds by offering meals and dining arrangements that help them mark days or times of year that have special significance.

“We want everyone who uses our dining halls to feel at home and welcome to celebrate their culture and observe religious practices during important times of year for them,” says Theresa Couto, Registered Dietitian & Wellness and Sustainability manager, Queen’s Hospitality Services. “We are committed to engaging students to learn more about how we can continue to improve our services to fully support them.”

Whenever possible, Hospitality Services invites members of diverse student groups to taste new culturally specific menu items and provide suggestions for making them more authentic.

Recently, the Hospitality Services team consulted with the Queen’s University Muslim Student Association (QUMSA) to prepare supports and meal arrangements for Ramadan, which began on March 22 and ends the evening of April 20. Each Thursday, Hospitality Services will provide a Ramadan feature menu item in campus dining halls. A few weeks before the start of Ramadan, QUMSA was invited to taste and offer feedback on the dishes.

As students observing Ramadan fast from dawn to sunset, Hospitality Services wanted to provide them with more flexible options for accessing food. While Queen’s dining halls typically offer dine-in service only, students observing Ramadan can pack meals in reusable “GOOD TO GO” containers to take back home for their pre-dawn Suhoor meals. Halal food options will also be available at retail food locations on campus.

Hospitality Services also provides cultural food supports and celebrations around other significant periods, including Holi, Lunar New Year, Black Histories and Futures Month, Passover, Diwali, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur.

Dining is just one facet of support. The university also provides religious academic accommodations, prayer, reflection and meditation spaces on campus, personal supports and programming offered through Faith and Spiritual Life, Queen’s University International Centre (QUIC), and other student centres, as well as collaborations with student clubs and groups. This Ramadan, for example, QUMSA is hosting evening Iftar meals at QUIC in Mitchell Hall.

Keep track of upcoming cultural events on Queen’s EDII calendar, and dining-specific initiatives through Hospitality Services website.