The University of Michigan’s Central Student Government hosted the World Bites food fair in the Diag Sunday afternoon. The event included free food and performances in collaboration with several student organizations at the University. In connection with the identities their groups are based on, 12 student organizations showcased globally-inspired food samples, followed by performances by 3 additional student groups.
LSA junior Lydia Asmerom, president of the University’s East African Student Association, spoke with The Michigan Daily about the process her student organization underwent to provide local restaurant food at the fair. Asmerom said all of the food purchased was reimbursed through Central Student Government, as well as U-M’s LSA Student Government and Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs.
“We were given money (from CSG) to choose a restaurant, depending on our organization’s countries of origin,” Asmerom said. “We chose an Ethiopian restaurant called Tastes of Ethiopia in Southfield, Michigan. We got some sambusa … (and) himbasha, our typical bread … We also had some plantains, which are not typically Ethiopian or Eritrean but really common in East Africa.”
CSG vice president Bipasha Ray told The Daily the event’s ultimate goal was to celebrate cultural diversity.
“As part of Central Student Government, our goal at the end of the day is always to uplift student voices and celebrate the diversity in the culture we have on campus,” Ray said. “For every programming event we’re doing this year, we’re trying to align it with a specific goal … This one was more about cultural celebration.”
Ray invited other student organizations to reach out to CSG with new ideas or feedback.
“At CSG, we love collaborating with student organizations,” Ray said. “If any students have ideas for similar events, we love bringing student ideas to life.”
CSG also worked closely with student organizations to make the event as sustainable as possible Asmerom said.
“A lot of times, restaurants don’t necessarily package things sustainably,” Asmerom said. “We were given plates and forks and bowls and napkins that are compostable, and we told every student we served to throw away their food in the compostable bins.”
CSG received support from the University’s Office of Campus Sustainability as part of their Zero Waste Events Program. According to the program’s website, a zero waste event “aims to reduce waste, recycle and compost as much as possible to divert waste from the landfill.”
LSA sophomore Joyce Jung, CSG deputy programming officer, described how the event aligned with this goal.
“We also partnered with Zero Waste, as we’re trying to promote sustainability,” Jung said. “We have compost bins around; all of the supplies that we got from (the Office of Campus Sustainability) were compostable, like forks, cups, plates. We’re making sure everyone is using the compost bins smartly.”
In an email to The Daily, LSA junior Terra Lafreniere, CSG chief programming officer, listed the organizations that performed at the event: the all-male K-Pop group DB3, the African dance group Amala Dancers, and South Asian Dance team Michigan Taal.
“We incorporated performances into the event to enhance the experience of the students who attended,” Lafreniere wrote. “Our goal with this event was to create a memorable experience where they could engage with organizations from different cultures. We thought that including a performance aspect would really add to the event, as well as encourage people to stick around for a bit longer.”
Lafreniere discussed the inspiration for the World Bites event, a similar event from 2017 called illUMiNATIONS.
“CSG held illUMiNATIONS in November 2017… with a cultural food fair on Ingalls Mall and a separate show in the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre with 11 different performance-based organizations,” Lafreniere wrote. “This was our inspiration for World Bites, but we combined the different aspects to increase attendance for both and provide a broader experience for students.”
Daily Staff Reporter Thomas Gala-Garza can be reached at tmgala@umich.edu.