Syracuse Campus Dining Reworks Ramadan Meals

SYRACUSE N.Y. (CITRUSTV NEWS) — Syracuse University’s campus dining team is working together with Muslim students to bring a variety and nutritional amounts of grab and go packages ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.

The program has been established for a number of years but changes incorporating student feedback has started over the past year. Ashley Leone, a registered dietitian with SU Dining shared her thoughts on how the relationship with students has evolved through the past year. 

“The relationship with students has become almost casual, they shoot me an email and say hey’s we’d really like to see more X on the menu, so I think that relationship has been the biggest change” Leone said. 

Along with Leone, Rick Leonardo is the executive chef for SU dining and explained how the program started over the last two years. 

“So, we decided to take the two private dining rooms, set Ernie Davis and Sadler, and offer meals that could be taken back to their rooms during the propensity” Leonardo said. 

SU juniors Elyas Layachi and Omar Muhammad have been a part of the pilot program over the years and share their perspective on what the program means to them. 

“This provides some students that are fasting, an opportunity to gather food before the morning meal and basically provide themselves with nutrients that they need for the day going forward” Layachi said. 

Following a similar sentiment, Muhammad explained the changes he’s seen since the start of the program. 

“We’ve experienced the program ourselves and were able to iterate and actually provide the students with the right food and the right snacks that they need for the month. So hopefully it just keeps getting better from here on out” Muhammad added. 

Reporter: Zaara Malik