Justin Segall just couldn't do it any longer.
Finding kosher dining options on Duke University's campus was a struggle--so much so that the junior from Denver secured special permission to be able to live off campus and maintain his own kitchen.
The only kosher certified food available from campus eateries are microwavable meals, currently sold at the Marketplace and Great Hall dining facilities.
"It's fine to eat microwavable chicken once or twice a week but I couldn't handle it more than that," Segall said.
Yet, by the time kosher students come back from their winter breaks, things will have changed.
Duke will soon carry items from Aunt Trudy's, a line of healthy, tasteful foods which are certified by the Kashruth Division of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.
"It's unusual stuff that I've never seen before," said Jim Wulforst, director of dining services. "It's healthy, has high grades from people who are vegan or vegetarian, and it's all kosher certified. They are all hot entrees, so there's no cold stuff."
Aunt Trudy's carries popular food items such as strudel, baklava, quiche, chili and pastry pockets--all kosher. Many items are also organic, vegetarian, or vegan.
Although Wulforst acknowledges that students will appreciate the expansion and improvement of kosher dining options, he bemoans the loss of last year's kosher dining program that had previously served students at the Freeman Center for Jewish Life.
"The costs were so prohibitive," Wulforst said. "After a direct mail program to 6,000 students, we only had 26 students sign up--eventually we had only nine students [enrolled in the kosher plan]."
Wulforst emphasized that students must be satisfied with their kosher dining options or Dining Services would lose money. "Packaged meals are difficult--they're prohibitively expensive for us to buy," he said. "If we don't sell them at a loss, we're probably selling them at a break-even."
As Segall can testify, students are eager for more kosher options on campus.
"I think there's a need for a kosher dining alternative and it's just not necessarily as a stand-alone operation," Wulforst said. "People who keep kosher don't necessarily want to be segregated either."
Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee co-chair Sean Biederman agrees, adding that he hopes a more permanent kosher dining established could be established in the future. "I don't think a frozen meal is something that most people want," he said. "I think however it shows that the effort is there and that dining services is not ignoring the problem."
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