Students at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, whose undergraduate population of 13,000 is 20 percent Jewish, are lucky to have plenty of Kosher options right on campus.
The main kosher dining hall, 104West!, is run by Cornell Dining and supervised by the Orthodox Union. It is located on Cornell’s west campus, adjacent to the Cornell Center for Jewish Living. Because of its integration with Cornell Dining, students need not purchase a separate, more expensive Kosher plan: A meal at 104West! costs one meal swipe, just like every other all-you-can-eat dining hall. 104West!, which serves both dairy and meat meals, is open for lunch and dinner every day, and offers daily soup, salad bar, and deserts, in addition to whatever the hot option is that day. Students also have the option of ordering custom specialties from the grill, which include omelettes, quesadillas, and pad thai. 104West! provides catering services, allowing students to buy Kosher food for outside events—Pizza, deli, and even Shabbat meals!
For freshman who live on North Campus, which is approximately a 12 minute walk from 104West!, there exists a more conveniently located Kosher option. North Star, an all-you-can-eat facility in North Campus’ Appel Commons, features a kosher station supervised by a mashgiach. Besides for such classics as deli sandwiches, hot dogs, and matzoh ball soup, the station also provides fresh hot food, brought from the kosher kitchen at 104West!
When on the go, Cornellians have the option to pick up Kosher, prepackaged deli sandwiches from many restaurants and shops around campus. The Noyes convenience store offer kosher staples such as frozen pizza bagels, lox, deli meats, and more. And for those students adventurous enough to venture into Ithaca, the supermarket Wegmans’ maintains well-stocked kosher meat and dairy sections.