Thanks to Morris Trachten and others, UConn students can enjoy three kosher meals a day
By Howard Blas

When Morris Trachten attended the University of Connecticut in the 1940s, very few students kept kosher.
"I survived on tuna and egg salad," recalls Trachten, who entered UConn in 1942, left to serve in the military, then completed his studies in the School of Business Administration in 1948.  Now, thanks to the support of Trachten and other donors, Jewish students at UConn can enjoy three kosher meals a day.
Debbie Rubenstein, executive director of UConn Hillel from 1993 to 2003, knew what having a kosher dining hall could mean for a university community.
"I just knew a whole university Hillel and Jewish life on campus can change if Jewish day school graduates can come and have a place to eat," reports Rubenstein.   "When I came to UConn, we had eight students active in Hillel, and we knew of fewer than 100 Jewish students.  Now, we have 200 active Jewish students and we know of 800 Jewish students.  I knew we were ready to get to the next level."
"I knew Mr. Trachten had an interest in doing something for the university-but nothing excited him. When we went to lunch to discuss the idea of a kosher dining hall, he said, ‘Was this your idea? This is brilliant!'  It was just what he wanted." 
Trachten, an observant Jew and long-time member of the Westville Synagogue in New Haven, saw the benefits of a kosher dining program.
"The school was anxious to make kosher food available on campus-without a kosher dining facility, UConn is not able to tap the market of more observant, kosher students," he says.
Trachten's longtime friend and colleague, Jay Rubin, is currently the executive vice president of the International Division of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life in Washington, D.C.  Rubin adds, "The idea was for UConn was to attract more traditional Jewish students by offering a serious kosher dining option. UConn was not on the radar screen for most traditional students.  And many traditional students from Connecticut who opted for public, flagship universities ended up at Maryland, Binghamton and other schools as a result."  Rubin and Trachten worked closely during Rubin's tenure as executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven from 1991-1996.  
The University of Connecticut formally dedicated the $300,000 Morris N. Trachten Kosher Dining Facility on October 2, 2003. The kosher dining facility is part of a $6.5 million, 20,000-square-foot food court featuring seven other food service stations and seating for 400.  University Food Services is responsible for food preparation under the supervision of the Hartford Kashrut Commission. The facility includes a 1,000-square-foot kitchen space for the preparation of meat and dairy food, and serves three meals a day, seven days a week.
At the dedication, University President, Phillip E. Austin, remarked, "This facility is strengthening the Jewish community, helping attract excellent students, adding to the diversity of the campus, and overall helping make the University of Connecticut a better place."
Rubin, who also participated in the dedication ceremony, notes, "The Trachten Kosher Dining Facility is one of the best I have seen in the U.S. Anyone can opt to eat kosher if they like the selection. Kosher diners are not separated from other students."
Pam Newman, in her second year as executive director of UConn Hillel, reports that the kosher dining hall currently serves between 300 and 400 meals per day.  Breakfast and lunch are dairy and dinner is meat (except on Thursdays when lunch is meat and dinner is dairy).  On Friday evenings, Reform, Conservative and Orthodox students have Shabbat dinner at the Morris N. Trachten Kosher Dining Facility.
"The wonderful thing about the kosher dining hall is that it draws Jewish students to eat together, regardless of their level of kashrut," reports Newman.  "It is the best food on campus!  Students who don't otherwise keep kosher come because it is tasty, and because of the warmth of the facility.  
"The staff is incredible-they even know who is allergic to what-someone comes through the line and a staff member may say, ‘you can't eat this because it has nuts,' or ‘it is nut bread-but we took out the nuts because of you.' The kitchen staff even names dishes after their students' favorite foods."
Perhaps they will soon serve a dish named after Mr. Trachten.

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The Morris Trachten Kosher Dining Facility at UConn is located within the Towers Dining Hall on the Main Campus (3388 Towers Loop Road)  For information about kosher dining, call 860-486-0703.  For general dining questions, call 486-3128.

Hours during the semester are 7:00 am to 7:15 pm.