Now it's kosher to dine at U.Va.

Students who keep kosher can now choose from hot meals, sandwiches and entree salads at the "Katz's" stations at the Observatory Hill and Newcomb Hall dining facilities.

Offering include frozen meals  — baked chicken, broiled salmon, stuffed cabbage and pot roast  — prepared by a Baltimore, Md., distributor and cooked in kosher-only microwave ovens. Tuna salad, pastrami, corned beef, turkey and egg salad are among the salad selections.

The University's dining services has teamed up with Hillel, which operates a kosher kitchen that U.Va. uses as a commissary for preparing the cold kosher food, said Thomas Fiametta, district executive chef for U.Va. dining. Hillel offers its own holiday meals and Shabbat meals every Friday, he said. 

The new U.Va. dining program "allows students to avoid being segregated simply because of the meals that they choose," Fiametta added. "We view mealtime as a time to relax and enjoy being with friends."