Boston University Dining Services had a very chili weekend in Cambridge.
BU competed against Harvard University and Northeastern University in Harvard’s annual Vegan Chili Beanpot Festival Saturday.
The festival was held on Harvard’s Science Center Plaza from 11 to 1 p.m. The event was hosted by Harvard’s Dining Services and Let’s Talk About Food, an organization founded in 2010 with a goal to engage people to learn about their food in a healthy way.
One of BU dining’s goals was to show how they are able to cater to a variety of students’ health needs, Laurel O’Keefe, BU dining’s marketing manager, said. O’Keefe said BU dining wanted to highlight the options they have for students across campus.
“So basically the reason we decided to participate today is that we really want to highlight the vegan program that we have at BU,” O’Keefe said. “We really just want to bring that out to the community and let them know the great things that we’re doing.”
The people passing by the Harvard, BU and Northeastern booths had an opportunity to try their vegan dishes and then vote online.
Xavier Toledo, a junior in Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Services, was helping to work BU’s table and said this event is bringing awareness to eating healthier as well as helping the environment.
“You can go around and learn about sustainability, learn about fair trade, learn about anything that’s new to the food system,” Toledo said.
Alia Yapo, a 2018 graduate of BU, said she liked the topping options for BU’s chili and said she will be using the recipe for herself soon.
“I also really like how it is more of a traditional taste,” Yapo said. “And I like the vegan cheeses and sour cream that you can also add.”
Divya Amirtharaj, a freshman at Harvard, said she likes that the universities are displaying their options, catering to students who are vegetarians like herself.
“I’m vegetarian so it’s very nice to have vegan options that taste good,” Amirtharaj said.
Noah Harris, a sophomore at Harvard, said he thinks the event is positive, but it could be bigger if the event were to be held at a different location.
“I think they should definitely continue to have it,” Harris said. “Maybe they could spread it around to other schools. I don’t know if it specifically needs to be at Harvard.”
Erin Landry, a 2018 BU graduate, said while she enjoyed trying the various chilis, she said she thinks BU has more of a traditional taste.
“It’s so good,” Landry said. “It’s very traditional chili.”
