GW Dining Adds Kosher Options at Dining Halls and Markets to Help Celebrate the Jewish High Holidays

Special kosher meals are available at all three of the George Washington University's all-you-care-to-eat dining halls, as well as Shenkman Market and District House Market, throughout the Jewish High Holidays until Oct. 18. The expanded offerings, available during the holidays since 2023, are offered by GW Dining in partnership with GW Hillel and the Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life.

Sealed, reheatable OU and Star-K certified kosher meals as well as kosher-style meals are available for grab-and-go at all five locations. At the dining halls, ring the bell at the cashier stand to pick one up. At the markets, follow "Kosher Meals This Way" signage. Menu options will be indicated at each location. Students on the meal plan receive one meal per swipe. Those not on a meal plan can purchase Kosher meals at the dining hall lunch rate of $17. Menu options vary by week and include deli classics like pastrami on rye and white fish salad on challah, as well as pot roast, falafel and more.

Through Yom Kippur on Thursday, Pelham Commons, Shenkman Dining Hall and Thurston Dining Hall will also offer special kosher-style dining stations. These use kosher ingredients but are prepared in the dining hall's non-kosher kitchen.

GW Zingers, the university's year-round fully kosher deli, is staffed by a full-time mashgiach and kosher chef but is closed through Oct. 18 so staff can attend services and spend the holidays with their families. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, began at sundown on Sept. 22 this year; Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, begins at sundown on Oct. 2; and Sukkot, the celebration of the harvest, runs from Oct. 6 to Oct. 13.

"We want to make sure that everyone is included, and everyone can eat the way they need to," said Douglas Frazier, executive director of GW Dining. "I always say to folks that parents have sent their kids halfway across the country and entrusted us to take care of them. So, we need to make sure that we do that right. And we like to help students feel that we what offer helps GW to feel like a home away from home."

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