The Retort

8th Annual International Food Fair Provided Great Food Deals and Raised Money

April 18th, 2011 by Wakana Iwata Of The Retort Staff

A big annual international event, the International Food Fair was held on Thursday, March 31. It started at 4 pm and continued until 7 pm in the Student Union Ballroom at MSUB’s main campus. This year’s International Food Fair - the eighth annual - was the largest, yet.

It attracted over 300 people from on and off of the campus. All food at the food fair was prepared and cooked by the international students on the MSUB campus. All together 11 countries served their own food and there were 40 kinds of dishes. Countries that food was served from are Saudi Arabia, India, South Korea, Vietnam, China, Japan, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Australia, and America. People who came to this event could enjoy authentic food from each country. Japan’s sushi made the highest profits of the night.

This event was a good opportunity for Americans and international students to experience other countries’ culture. For Gene Maddox, a MSUB student, this was his first International Food Fair.

“I tried many kinds of food, and all of them tasted very good. Actually, they were better than food from restaurants and much cheaper. I had never tried most of the food, so it was a very good opportunity to try food from other countries. Also, I thought it was very cool that people were wearing their traditional clothes,” said Maddox of his experience at the food fair.

Xiaoyi Wang, an international student from China, experienced her fourth International Food Fair.

“I think this year’s food fair went really well. A lot of people who are living in Billings brought their families, friends, and kids. It was a great experience for them to learn different cultures and meet international students. Also, it was a good opportunity for MSUB’s campus to show cultural diversity. The food fair gave participants the opportunity to try a lot of kinds of food from many countries at a time. And it was first time we have seen food from Saudi Arabia! I think other international student who joined this fair also really enjoyed presenting their culture,” said Wang of this year’s food fair.

The food fair sold over $3400 worth of food and 15 percent of this profit will go to the Japanese Red Cross as a donation to the recovery from the Japanese earthquake. Also, this event was nominated for a leadership recognition award for outstanding campus event of 2011. This year the International Food Fair achieved great success from various aspects.