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Students eat kosher food at UCLA Hillel as an alternative to dining halls.

As Passover began at sunset last Wednesday, many Jewish students prepared to celebrate a tradition hundreds of years old.

But because of limited kosher options in dining halls, some looked off campus for properly prepared food to observe the holiday.

General Jewish dietary laws – also called kosher laws – forbid the consumption of the meat of any animal that is not raised and killed in a prescribed manner and blessed by a rabbi, and prohibit eating meat and dairy at the same time.

The most observant Jews hold that the same dishes and utensils may not be used for meat and dairy and do not eat from plates that were used to serve non-kosher food. These observances, among others, make it difficult for some students to find acceptable foods in the dining halls.

During the week of Passover, kosher laws become even stricter: Observant Jews cannot eat leavened food and grain products, in addition to a variety of other ingredients found in many common dining hall foods.

Jewish students at UCLA observe kosher rules in varying degrees, and while some less-observant Jews follow few of the dietary laws, many others either go home or to UCLA Hillel in order to commemorate the holiday.

Hillel, a hub for Jewish student activity, caters to the students observing Passover by providing kosher meals throughout Passover, including two Seder dinners, a traditional meal observed on the first two nights of Passover.

Approximately 50 students were present at each lunch and dinner, though the first Seder attracted about 160 students, said Andy Green, a fourth-year mathematics and economics student and student board president of Hillel.

Though the dining halls are serving some kosher items, some students find that those items do not satisfy their dietary requirements.

“It’s a nice gesture, but practically speaking, (the On Campus Housing Council) isn’t catering to the needs of Jewish students,” said David Bardo, a second-year economics student who supervises preparation of kosher foods at Hillel. “Who would be able to just eat crackers and soup for a week?”

Dining officials could not be reached for comment for this story.

Nathaniel Schuster, president of the Jewish Student Union, said the soups and matzo provided in dining halls during Passover are not kosher enough for more orthodox students.

Schuster said JSU has been working with UCLA Dining Services on a proposal to provide kosher food on the Hill.

In this proposal, UCLA Dining Services would provide refrigerators in the four residential dining halls with kosher meat, and possibly dairy products, so that Jewish students could enjoy a more balanced kosher diet, said Jennifer Lorch, a JSU member involved in the proposal.

To access these refrigerators, Jewish students would have to fill out a form with UCLA Dining Services verifying their need for kosher food, Lorch said, adding that students would also bring in paper plates and plastic utensils to avoid using dishes used for non-Kosher food.

“These cold offerings are the most possible option without costing OCHC much additional money,” Schuster said.

He said the proposal will be presented to UCLA Dining Services on Friday, with hopes to implement the plan next fall quarter.

Schuster said he wants to make it easier for Jewish students on the Hill.

“A big part of living at the dorms is eating with your friends on the Hill,” Schuster said, adding that this was a social dynamic some Jewish students have to weigh against religious beliefs.

Elliot Siegel, a third-year sociology student who described himself as moderately religious, moved out of on campus housing after his first year partially because of its lack of kosher options.

“It was a little difficult,” Siegel said. “I pretty much just ate salad and cereal.”

Siegel is now the food services chair at Hillel, and said he has worked to increase the availability of kosher meals there to help provide Jewish students with proper food options.

Though Jewish students cannot eat many foods during Passover, a variety of options are available, Green said.

“We still have churros and tostadas, but they’re made with potato starch,” Green said. “Even though we’re constrained, there are so many alternatives. We come up with amazing dishes just for Passover.”