Around the World in Annenberg

Harvard University Dining Services receives enough grief. From the friend who hasn’t stepped into Annenberg in a week to the faithful late-night Brain Break snacker, every student has an opinion about the food that fills our plates. But tucked behind the soft-serve machine, HUDS is quietly introducing us to cuisines as diverse as the students on campus.

Food at Harvard has become an entryway to connection. From the Gen Ed 1104: “Science and Cooking” to “A Taste of Harvard Square,” to Brain Break chats and faculty dinners, eating together remains a way to break the ice by breaking the bread. Food draws us in; conversation keeps us there. It’s no coincidence that a text sent between my friends is often, “Anyone at Berg?”

As a first-year still caught between home and here, I’ve found that food—however imperfect—has helped me feel at home on campus.

Annenberg, with its cathedral ceilings and chatter echoing off its walls, is alluring. There’s a magic that the Hogwarts-inspired d-hall brings to my transition to college, becoming at once a bottomless pantry and the exclusive gathering place of first-years. As a routine-seeker, I’ve found comfort in some daily assurances: the grill’s chicken and the salad bar’s hummus, the sweetness of morning melons and the crunch of a toasted sesame bagel. Each day, I’m grateful that food is always waiting after a lecture, p-set, or run. 

Don’t get me wrong: as a self-proclaimed foodie (descended from a line of self-proclaimed foodies), I’ve been spoiled by the culinary diversity of Los Angeles and Shanghai. I didn’t expect HUDS to match that. I expected safe food and predictable meals. 

Yet, I’ve found myself unexpectedly delighted at how HUDS has made a respectable effort to expand its international cuisine. While there were some dishes I’d never tried before, others reminded me faintly of home. Since I’ve arrived on campus, menus have featured flavors from China, Cuba, France, India, Lebanon, Mexico, Philippines, Spain, and Thailand. There was a day of Caribbean soul food—cornmeal-crusted fish, creamy grits, and black-eyed peas. Another week brought Indian butter chicken, Polish sauerkraut and sausage, Korean bulgogi, and Filipino adobo. The Chinese-inspired menu—edamame popstickers, stir-fry chicken with chilies, jasmine rice, and tofu steamed with ginger and scallion—brought me good humor, if not a confused mouth. Heavy-handed with spice and oil, it wasn’t quite the food from home in California, but it gestured toward it. When I needed nourishment to carry me through midterms, that was enough.

I spoke with Smitha Haneef, Managing Director of Harvard University Dining Services, about HUDS’s evolving approach to global cuisine. When we talked, she had just finished lunch at Annenberg with a first-year student, Benjamin, whose family recipe for beefy nachos was recently featured in the dining hall. “He was excited to see his mom’s recipe featured,” Haneef shared with a smile. “Our team actually produced a poster calling out the recipe, the family who submitted the recipe, and the student’s name.” She continued to share some upcoming student- and culturally-inspired dishes: “pumpkin black bean chili, chicken alfredo pasta, and banana pancakes.”

This initiative is part of HUDS’s effort to expand menu diversity and respond to student feedback. 

Earlier this year, Haneef wrote to all first-year families, asking them to submit a recipe from their home. It was made possible through a grant that the Harvard Culture Lab Innovation Fund had given to the dining services in the summer of 2024 to “bring students recipes, follow their story, and celebrate the student journey.” 

At a broader level, Haneef explained that Harvard menus are built around four key priorities: health, culture, religion, and environment. “Our team is writing menus and preparing recipes that meet broadly at these four areas.” The goal is to make Harvard “inclusive to a broad range of students that form our community here.”

While HUDS celebrates international variety, it’s equally dedicated to supporting local producers. “These are all local families preparing ingredients for us, either ingredients or products,” Haneef noted. “We source peanut butter from Teddies, lettuce from Little Leaf [Farms], for example.” For example, HUDS uses local produce from 250 farms in a 250-mile radius of Cambridge, hand-picked fruits (e.g., apples and pears) from local orchards, and chicken breasts from New York-area farms. 

In 2024, Harvard was recognized as the Greenest University in America, with the highest number of Certified Green restaurants. 32% of HUDS’s food budget goes toward local goods—from baked items to pasta, dairy, and seafood. Depending on the season, 20-70% of produce is locally grown, ensuring that each meal is as eco-friendly as it is globally inspired.

When I asked Haneef about her own favorite meal, she didn’t hesitate. “The fish and chips,” she said. “The fish comes fresh from local fishermen that bring us the fish, and then we are able to prepare it into something right that same day.”

Although the flavors fade in and out of familiarity, I find comfort in knowing there will always be something—and often, someone—familiar waiting at Annenberg. These meals hold a kind of constancy that feels rare in college life. Some days, I crave the simplicity of a bowl of white rice; others, I’m curious about plantains, burong mangga (Filipino pickled green mangoes), or Ghanaian chicken stew. Whether I’m chasing the jackpot of a sweet apple, crispy fries, luscious cheesecake, or piping-hot tea, there’s something fun about dining halls, a uniquely good mood that a yummy HUDS meal inspires.

In the end, it’s less about perfect authenticity than about Berg’s identity as a hall where first-years gather again and again around shared warmth. As Haneef reflects on the best part of her job on HUDS, she laughs, “You can see it from the smile, right? It’s the conversations with the students and the one-on-one connections that bring me joy every day.”

To sit in Berg, tray in hand, with friends from every corner of the world to eat a delicious dish—that’s what it means, to me, to have a good meal. How I want to approach food is how I want to approach college, taking a bite out of something new and fresh, reexploring the familiar as well as the nostalgic. As I am introduced to new dishes and new connections, I find myself satiated by food and cultural knowledge.

Cloris Shi ’29 (clorisshi@college.harvard.edu) enjoys anything HUDS makes with sweet potato.