International students at Arizona Western College will now be able to cook food from their home countries on campus.
Cooking is not allowed in the residence halls and the international students, many of whom are student-athletes, rely on care packages from family back home.
Now, in a partnership with the Career and Technical Education Culinary Arts program, they’ll be able to use the teaching kitchen once a month.
The idea came up during the Horizon Symposium in November when student Rosemary Harrison of Nigeria brought up the idea of a shared space for international students to share their native cuisines with others.
The first cooking day was Friday and the featured cuisine was pancakes and apple pies from the Netherlands.
Student Julia Koorn said it makes the AWC community more like her family.
“Being able to cook my own dishes over here, it makes it feel more like home, even though I’m so far away,” Koorn said. “It’s like 6,000 miles.”
The program is seeking community donations for ingredients and supplies. You are asked to contact AWC Foundation Director Laura Campbell.
AWC is home to about 95 international students from almost 40 countries including Mexico, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vietnam and Turkey.