Thank You, Caf

I was inspired to write this article one night during dinner when the chicken I was eating was so good, I thought to myself, “Wow. This must be recognized publicly.”

Along with keeping kosher, I have a myriad of food intolerances. Last semester, when I came to campus, I immediately realized there was nothing I could eat for dinner in the caf without feeling sick. 

“It’s okay,” I thought to myself, “I am used to this; I managed to get through all of seminary, I can make it through Stern too.” But alas, I forgot that while my dorm did technically come with a kitchen, all my Brookdale kitchen consisted of was a sink, microwave, and an electric kettle. I am also, unfortunately, a rule follower, and so I did not buy an air fryer or anything I could actually cook with. This led me to eat what a generous person might call “girl dinner” each night. Most nights it meant oatmeal and an apple; other nights I dined by eating part of an avocado, a pepper with hummus, maybe tuna, or the occasional sweet potato, which I used to make in the microwave before I had to stop for logistical reasons, as it turns out you can’t cook a sweet potato properly in a Stern microwave (you especially can’t if your windows don’t open, because before long, despite cutting it properly, it will set the fire alarm off. Security will then forbid you from using the microwave again). While I was not thrilled with the status quo, what was I going to do? I had long since accepted my sad dinner reality of eating random, unrelated foods that could be eaten raw, alone in my dorm “kitchen.”

Then came the beginning of my second semester, which would prove to be dinner-altering for me. I had emailed an undergraduate dean at the beginning of the year to reach out about certain difficulties arising from the limited caf and library hours on the weekends as an out-of-towner. When Dean Asher emailed that they would be extending the hours in the caf, a friend of mine with celiac disease was inspired to contact the caf to inform them of the lack of options she was encountering daily. The deans connected her with the caf team, and they graciously met with her and provided her with alternatives. She straight away advised me to meet with them as well. 

I immediately arranged a meeting with the caf manager, Sharon Nagar. When I went to her office in Le Bistro Cafe, she had already decided that there was going to be a positive change for my situation; the only question was how. The mindset was “what can we as the Stern caf do to help you?” She offered a sea of options for me, and I am so incredibly thankful to her. Literally that very day, my life in Stern changed: since that meeting, the caf has been cooking me alternative dinners that I can eat. Let’s just say they are worlds better than anything I whipped up in my “kitchen.” The caf workers know me and my situation and constantly ask if I have what I need. This arrangement also allowed me to eat dinner each night with my friends, rather than alone in my dorm. 

I am so tremendously grateful to the caf for taking my dietary needs seriously. In any other university, the priority would be to find kosher food, but in Stern, that is the baseline, so they were also able to help me find filling foods that met my needs.

I am writing this article not only to publicly thank the hard-working caf workers who have gone above and beyond for me, but also to advertise to other students. Who even knew you could email anyone from the caf? My first-semester self would have greatly benefited from an article like this. When I started Stern, no part of orientation was titled “what to do when you are not able to find food you can eat in the caf.” If you have dietary issues and the caf seems not to be able to serve your needs, it can feel incredibly frustrating. But I learned that in reality, the caf workers work hard to figure out some arrangement to suit each student’s needs. 

When I came to Stern, I knew nothing about this service of the caf, and I am sure that before reading this article, you didn’t either. So, for the hungry Stern girl eating “girl dinner” every night, not out of laziness but out of necessity, I am telling you that there is hope. You, too, can eat dinner paid for by your caf card. 

Photo Caption: A personal meal prepared by the Stern caf

Photo Credit: Eliana Waghalter