The nation's foremost American pioneer in premium hand-cut halal meat and poultry products, Crescent Foods, announced the launch of a turnkey foodservice program for college and university dining halls, nationwide, this month. In addition to offering a wide variety of hand-cut halal beef, lamb, turkey (seasonally), and chicken products for on-campus dining, including restaurants, Crescent Foods also provides numerous retail products for on-campus mini-marts, as a one-stop-shop for universities and their distributors. To enhance the student experience, the company works with student life and development staff, and administrators, to support marketing efforts for all platforms through recipe ideas, signage, education, consumer website, engagement, and social media. Crescent Foods hopes to help create a more welcoming campus atmosphere for Muslim students and for all students who value responsibly sourced food.
"We initially piloted the program with a large university in California, and student acceptance was strong, which led to expanded offerings," said Pete Eckes, vice president of business development for Crescent Foods. "Muslim Student Associations (MSAs) have long asked for structured on-campus halal meal programs, but hand-cut halal on a large scale has never been available. Until now."