As Culinary Services, we believe in the work within the ever-evolving field of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) that aligns with the 2030 Strategic Plan of both MSU and SLE. We play an integral part of what MSU’s Culinary Services provides for our campus, from offering learning opportunities for our team members, to collaborating with people within our communities in providing foods that represent the diverse student body of our Spartans. As a student-focused and student-facing department, we seek and listen for ways we can better our policies and practices. We hope to achieve that by providing spaces and food that help all Spartans feel welcome, honored, and celebrated through building long-term, collaborative relationships with students, team members, and the broader MSU community through outreach and engagement.
Below you’ll find more info on DEIB’s work within Culinary Services at MSU. For further information, please reach out to the Associate Director of DEIB for Culinary Services, Dr. Brenda Nelson (nelsonb1@msu.edu). If you have a comment or concern you would like to share with us, please use the Eat At State Contact Information Page and we'll get back to you!
- DEIB Alignment
DEIB is listed as one of the six values in the 2030 Strategic Plan for Student Life And Engagement (SLE): "A sense of belonging is achieved when we celebrate diversity, ensure equity and promote inclusion. We address instances of harm and injustice through accountability and education to guarantee an environment in which healing and growth are deeply valued and supported".
- CS DEIB Task Force
Our DEIB Task Force is comprised of Culinary Services team members from across campus. Within the group are four committees that advocate for our DEIB goals and initiatives:
- DEIB Training: Present our DEIB overview training and presentation to CS team members.
- Accessibility Space Audit: Conduct and share findings of audits using The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Checklist for Existing Spaces to advocate that layouts for our facilities should be designed for people, rather than equipment.
- Community Engagement & Outreach: Find avenues for building relationships with people on and off MSU campus with the resources we have to offer.
- Employee Resource Groups (ERGs, In Progress): Facilitate the creation of ERGs that represent marginalized populations and their allies within CS work spaces. The goal for ERGs in Culinary Services is to bring groups with common interests and career goals together for professional development and/or career advancement.
- Response To Need
Thrive At Owen Hall – Located within Owen Hall in River Trail Neighborhood, Thrive is Certified Free From™ the Major 9 allergens (egg, fish, milk, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat) plus gluten. A third-party auditor reviews and approves all ingredients and recipes used within Thrive. Regular allergen testing is performed by Thrive team members, and results are sent to the auditor monthly.
- Cultural/Religious Meals And Events
Through our efforts, we aim to honor and celebrate various communities through our culinary offerings through guidelines that require our team members to research the culture(s) and dishes we include in our menus and events to ensure our output is informed and respectful. Please reach out to us if you're interested in partnering with us regarding future events or offerings in our dining facilities!
Below is a list of previous menus that we have offered and events we've hosted:
Filipino-American History Month
Our events are in alignment with the information found within MSU Religious Observance Resources
- DEIB On Campus Partners
Here are other groups on campus whose work aligns with MSU's DEI goals.
Diversity Research Network (DRN)
Gender and Sexuality Campus Center (GSCC)
Inclusive Campus Initiative (ICI)
Institutional Diversity and Inclusion (IDI)
International Studies & Programs (ISP)
Office of Cultural & Academic Transitions (OCAT)
- Learning Opportunities
Culinary Services provides cultural learning opportunities for team members to have a better understanding of how they can better assist with celebrating and commemorating the various holidays our students observe.
We have partnered with MSU’s James Madison College (JMC) for the Bridge Program. JMC's students serve as English language teachers for our team members who wish to develop English language skills. Further, Culinary Services also provides language translation tools so that our staff can communicate with us in both English, and their primary language.
We, alongside other departments and organizations around campus provide our team members with training opportunities that heighten our collective knowledge in the field of DEIB.
- Culinary Services DEIB Task Force offers DEIB presentation to CS team members from frontline, student-facing employees, to managers.
- MSU Dialogues
- QUEST – Building Capacity for LGBTQA+ Inclusion
- Here is a list of MSU's Inclusive Resources (provided by IDI)
- Ongoing Initiatives
- Cultural Aides (project in progress): We're building relationships with Registered Student Organizations (SROs), individual students, and people in our greater communities to help celebrate, commemorate, and foster belonging of people from the diverse group of Spartans we serve in Culinary Services.
- Volunteer work with local food banks.