Food festival celebrates Arab American Heritage month
A line of students follow the warm smells, taking in the colorful Arab American fashions while awaiting a chance to taste the many flavors of the Arab American culture.
In celebration of Arab American Heritage Month, the Multicultural Academic Student Services (MASS) office hosted the Arab Food Festival. Students, faculty and community members gathered together to take in the tastes and flavors of Arab culture on April 22 at the Bovee University Center.
Lena Kandah is a junior at Central Michigan University and is on the planning committee for Arab American heritage month.
“I think it’s really important this year more than any other year given the current nature on campus,” Kandah said. “Going to events on campus like this is a great way to be educated.”
Kandah said for her family, food is one thing that brings people together.
“I kind of fought to have this event to be a more comforting space for others to be social, eat the food, learn a little bit and be exposed to that culture,” Kandah said.
For her culture and every other culture she's been exposed to, food is part of tradition, Kandah said.
“You learn from your mother who learns from their grandmothers and it becomes a long line of tradition,” she said.
“There’s different stories about all the different dishes and what it can do for people throughout history. If somebody can’t afford to travel to another place, there are other resources that can give you a little taste.”
The buffet style lineup at the festival consisted of white rice, chicken shawarma, hash, kimbaee meat, grape leaves, falafel, fattoush salad, pita, hummus and garlic hummus.
Kandah said that one of her favorite dishes is the fattoush salad.
“My mom makes the best salad … I just know the one here is not gonna compare to the one she makes for family gatherings,” Kandah said. “She would make a separate one just for me.”
According to The Mediterranean Dish, fattoush salad is traced back to originate in Northern Lebanon where farmers would fry leftover pita scraps in olive oil for extra flavor and throw pita chips in with vegetables and herbs.
The fattoush salad according to Arab American includes pita chips, olive oil, salt and garlic powder; diced tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and onion; chopped mint leaves and parsley; romaine lettuce. For the lemon-garlic vinaigrette: lemon juice, olive oil and salt, pomegranate molasses, minced garlic clove and sumac.
Janay Johnson is a graduate student at CMU and a volunteer at the food festival. Johnson said by attending these events, one can learn a lot about different cultures and how food and culture intersect.
“You can’t have one without the other,” Johnson said. “They are very closely intertwined.”
Grace Klocko is CMU junior. Klocko said having your culture represented is very important.
“To have other people engage in that culture in a respectful manner through food and providing assistance is very cool,” Klocko said.
