Kosher Dining
Discover Kosher Dining Options Across Campus
Whether you’re looking for a full hot meal, a quick grab-and-go option, or a warm Shabbat dinner, Columbia and Barnard offer a variety of kosher dining choices to meet your needs. With supervised kitchens, flexible meal plans, and convenient locations including Hewitt Dining Hall, John Jay Dining Hall, and The Jewish Theological Seminary café, students can enjoy fresh, certified kosher food throughout the week.
Barnard Kosher Dining offers hot meals three times a day in Hewitt Dining Hall. All meals are freshly made in a supervised full service kosher kitchen. Breakfast and lunch are dairy, while dinner is generally a meat meal. The kosher section includes a salad bar as well. Hewitt Kosher meals are available to all CC, SEAS, Barnard, and GS students with a meal plan.
Columbia’s kosher dining program offers Fresko meals, pre-packaged grab-and-go products. Fresko meals are offered at John Jay Dining Hall on Columbia’s campus. Again, all students with a CC, SEAS, Barnard, or GS meal plan can purchase these meals.
The café at The Jewish Theological Seminary accepts Columbia’s Flex plan as payment for breakfast, lunch, and snacks and more! Visit Columbia Dining website for information and find JTS’s weekly menu here. The café at JTS is located on the first floor of the JTS campus at 3080 Broadway and 122nd Street. Columbia affiliates will need to show their University ID card at the building entrance for access. Contact information: cateringjts@lessings.com
When selecting a dining plan, there are many options, including plans labeled “Kosher Plan.” With any CC, SEAS, Barnard, or GS plan, kosher or not, you can access hot kosher food at Hewitt. However, you should purchase a kosher meal plan if you plan to regularly eat from the kosher section.
Both campuses are under strict supervision. The Fresko pre-packaged products are under the Star-K supervision. Barnard Kosher Dining in Hewitt Dining Hall is supervised by the Queens Vaad who oversee the kosher operations on a number of campuses in New York.
Meal plans come with points that work like cash on campus. Columbia points may only be used at Columbia campus retail facilities (including the John Jay Kosher Deli), while Barnard points may only be used at Barnard facilities. Additional Dining Dollars may be purchased that are usable on both campuses.
The Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life offers free Kosher Shabbat dinners every Friday night, called Kraft Shabbat Dinner (these are not part of any meal plan). Saturday lunches are offered by Barnard Kosher Dining and are set up in a Shabbat-style communal meal on Barnard’s campus. Students can sign up using a meal swipe ahead of time, before Shabbat begins. Kosher dining is not available in the Hewitt Dining Hall on Shabbat.
For Columbia dining services, please contact dining@columbia.edu or call 212-854-4076.
For Barnard, please contact dining manager Livia Drake (livia.drake@compass-usa.com) or call 212- 854-6642.
