NDSU Dining Center will host their annual Thanksgiving Dinner

The North Dakota State University Dining Centers are hosting their annual Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday, November 17. This dinner is one of the students favorite meals throughout the fall semester as it features many of the Traditional Thanksgiving food items. It is also an opportunity for students and faculty to return to the NDSU Dining center and take a break from the busy semester. 

The Thanksgiving Dinner is one of the largest dinners that NDSU hosts every year. “It’s one of those fun meals where we like to go above and beyond,” said ​​Hannah Prigge, the NDSU Dining Dietitian. All three dining centers will serve the traditional meal. This meal will feature: turkey, candied sweet potatoes, sage dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, coleslaw, corn, dinner rolls, lefse, apple pie, pumpkin pie, cinnamon ice cream, and whipped topping.  

Lefsa is one of the most popular food that is served, as this is a unique food option that is rarely available. Lefse is a popular Norwegian soft flatbread that is popular in the midwest region. “Not everyone knows what else is but if they know it’s gonna be there it’s going to be a big draw,” said Prigge.

They also serve variations of this meal for the Clean Eats Station in West Dining center. This is available to people without meal plans as well, as people can pay at the door before they eat. “I think it’s fun, we have a lot of staff and faculty bringing their families in,” said Prigge, “It’s a nice time to get everyone together and catch up with other people.” The family of NDSU students and alumni can also attend the event. 

Although many people come to the dinner, Thanksgiving food might not be the healthiest for us. “It’s one of those things that you do in moderation,” said Prigge. Although the food can be healthy, the habit in which people eat Thanksgiving is more problematic. “On Thanksgiving you typically think of overeating and stuffing our mouths full of food,” said Prigge. 

However, the meal is a way to relax and get in the holiday spirit. “A lot of it has to do with nostalgia and the Thanksgiving meal,” said Prigge, “It’s one of those meals that puts everyone in the holiday spirit.” 

The Dining Center creates new recipes and adds them to the dining center meals. They introduce recipes and then the food goes through a series of testing to determine if they should be integrated into the menu. They also take student suggestions to cater to the student body. The West Dining center added a smoothie option based off a student suggestion. 

This Thanksgiving meal comes exactly one week before the holiday. It also is a time where students’ schedules will start to get busy for their final projects. 

 “I don’t know what it is about that meal, but it breaks down some barriers, everyones just there to relax and have a good thanksgiving meal before you have to finish up school in the next couple weeks.”