Expanding On-Campus Dining Options to Support Growing Muslim Student Population
CHICAGO, IL (August 2021) – The nation’s foremost American pioneer in premium hand-cut halal meat and poultry products, Crescent Foods, announced the launch of a turnkey foodservice program for college and university dining halls, nationwide, this month. In addition to offering a wide variety of hand-cut halal beef, lamb, turkey (seasonally), and chicken products for on-campus dining, including restaurants, Crescent Foods also provides numerous retail products for on-campus mini-marts, as a one-stop-shop for universities and their distributors. To enhance the student experience, the company works with student life and development staff, and administrators, to support marketing efforts for all platforms through recipe ideas, signage, education, consumer website, engagement, and social media. Crescent Foods hopes to help create a more welcoming campus atmosphere for Muslim students and for all students who value responsibly sourced food.
“We initially piloted the program with a large university in California, and student acceptance was strong, which led to expanded offerings,” said Pete Eckes, vice president of business development for Crescent Foods. “Muslim Student Associations (MSAs) have long asked for structured on-campus halal meal programs, but hand-cut halal on a large scale has never been available. Until now.”
According to Eckes, with many students who use college and university on-campus living, especially for first-year students, campus-bound Muslim student dining options have been limited to vegetarian and seafood selections, at best. “Access and poor selection have not served Muslim students well and put them at a disadvantage. This, at a time when the Muslim student population continues to rise, and universities strive to find new ways to be more equitable and inclusive,” Eckes reflected.
With significant growth and demand expected in the Halal food market, and with one-third of the overall U.S. Muslim population under the age of 30, the new hand-cut halal foodservice program “represents a real opportunity to create relevant, diverse offerings and a more positive experience for all students. At the same time, this ultimately positions a university as a forward-thinker and leader, which is a win-win for everyone,” Eckes concluded.
Crescent Foods’ new hand-cut halal foodservice program for colleges and universities is now available for the 2021-22 school year. Information about the program can be found on the company’s website here.
###
About Crescent Foods: American Pioneers in Halal Meat for the Last 25 Years. And for the next.
Crescent Foods was founded in 1995 to bring healthy, humanely processed Halal chicken to America’s dinner tables. Today, Crescent Foods is the largest provider of premium quality Hand-Cut Halal poultry and meat products across the United States. It prides itself on its ability to offer choice through a variety of meat and poultry cuts, products, and packaging options to retail stores, restaurants, and institutions. Crescent Foods’ commitment to the highest Hand-Cut Halal standards, state-of-the-art production processes, use of technology, distribution, product development and service helps the company remain at the industry’s forefront in North America and globally.
to Support Growing Muslim Student Population