CCV’s 22nd International Food Festival: More Than Food

“As a Nepali we engage through food,” said CCV student Priya Gurung. “I feel like through sharing food you can share a lot – like culture sharing.” Priya had spent the day making a dish from her home country of Nepal: momos, a dumpling filled with a mixture of vegetables, meats, and spices, to share at CCV’s International Food Festival (IFF).

Nearly 150 people gathered at CCV-Winooski for a day of sharing and connection. Upon entering, attendees were greeted by the scent of fresh foods wafting through the halls, mixed with the sound of conversation and laughter of community members both young and old. Kids were running around playing tag, crafting, receiving mehndi, and eating desserts, while older community members could be found deep in conversation. Spreads of food could be seen among the crowd and many colorful flags from a variety of nations hung throughout the Janice Couture room.

“This is all about community,” said food festival planning team member Sheryl Eddy. “We’re bringing everyone together, everyone deserves to be here, and we want to explore all of our different backgrounds.” Established in 2001 as a potluck where students could bring a dish that represented their background and culture, founding staff had the goals of driving student engagement and building a sense of community. Now in the 22nd year of hosting the event, these goals remain.

The International Food Festival is also about celebrating the diversity of the CCV community. CCV staff, students, and community vendors were among the chefs sharing food, which represented cuisine from 13 different countries including Turkey, Greenland, and Somalia. CCV student Julia Matos chose to participate for a second year, making a dish from her home of Brazil, “I felt [the festival] was really interesting because there’s a lot of different cultures together,” Julia said. 

CCV alumni Richard Witting, chef and owner of Firefly Catering, was one of the caterers sharing food at this year’s event. “I attended CCV and the IFF is one of my favorite things every year,” he said of the food festival. “Both as a chance to just make some new things I’ve never tried but also to talk to everybody and see what they’ve made as well.” Richard prepared foods from Lesotho in southern Africa, Nepal, Palestine, and Greenland.

The International Food Festival embodies CCV’s commitment to  a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive environment. The event is a place where CCV students, staff, faculty, and community members can come together to share and connect, starting with food and blossoming into something deeper. “You observe people saying ‘oh my goodness, my grandmother used to make that,’ or, ‘this looks just like the food I grew up with’,” said Marianne Dimascio, co-founder of the food festival. “The student chefs and community vendors just take such pride in sharing their food with people. Also, where are you going to get this many different kinds of dishes? It’s amazing.”