A World of Foods

The International Student Association will host its annual International Food Festival to encourage students and faculty from NDSU to learn about other cultures through the food they prepare.

International students are asked to prepare a traditional dish from their culture to share and the festival. In the past, foods have been featured from Japan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Iran, Korea, China and Morocco. In addition to the students who prepare the dishes, the ISA asks volunteers to cook and serve the food during the festival.

“This is a great experience for the volunteers as well as the attendees of the event to taste and know more about different cultures prevalent around the world,” said junior Navneet Deosi, vice president of the ISA. “The charges to attend this event are extremely nominal, with members donating three dollars, and non-members donating five dollars. It is a six-hour event, and we do provide To-Go boxes for people in a hurry.”

The event is open to all students and faculty. Deosi also stresses the importance of everyone participating and sharing their culture’s food, regardless of whether they are members of ISA.

“Though our name says we are an organization for international students, we do encourage native students to join our organization too in order to better share and learn about each other’s cultures,” Deosi said. “The main motive of this organization is to bring people from different cultures closer to each other. [We] love working together to promote diversity, cultural sharing and having fun at the same time.”

Students involved in ISA are also able to earn scholarship hours by volunteering in the festival.

“Students should care about this event because it helps them share their culture with other students, faculty and staff of NDSU and also learn about different cultures,” said Deosi. “Being a part of this event is a two way experience. It also helps students enhance their communication and team working skills.”

Deosi enjoys experiencing such a wide variety of food on campus. Additionally, Deosi believes it is a great learning experience, especially for students majoring in Cross-cultural Studies and other related majors. Regardless of race or ethnicity, Deosi encourages everyone to participate.

I would really like the non-international students to come and join us in this event,” said Deosi. “We do want to include them, and having them being a part of it would just further the success of the event.”