With record-breaking numbers of Muslim students on campus, the University of Detroit Mercy is introducing new halal food options across campus dining facilities, marking a significant step toward inclusivity and catering to students’ diverse dietary needs.
Halal refers to the religious dietary standard imposed on Muslims. It covers a range of regulations, including the outright prohibition of certain foods, such as pork and alcohol, as well as the method of permissible animal slaughter.
The Varsity News received exclusive access to the kitchen that cooks and serves all food in The Loft and Titan Dining Room (TDR), as well as for any University events.
Across both dining spots, all ground beef, turkey bacon and grilled chicken is halal-certified. This means that at The Loft, the classic burger, the grilled chicken sandwich and the turkey BLT sandwich are all halal-friendly options for Muslim students. Additionally, The Loft serves several non-meat options including a vegan burger, grilled cheese and a grilled vegetable cheese sandwich – all Muslim friendly options.
As for the fried chicken – that is, the chicken used in the crispy chicken sandwich and the chicken tenders – they are often, but not always, halal. Nancy Preston, general manager at Metz Culinary Management, the kitchen and dining service which operates and provides food across the University of Detroit Mercy campuses, cited a shortage of halal chicken. Because Metz cannot always source halal chicken for its crispy chicken sandwich and chicken tenders, they cannot always guarantee it will be halal.
All meats including the ground beef and turkey bacon are sourced from three different plants – two Godshall’s Quality Meats plants located in Pennsylvania and a Green Bay Dressed Beef plant in Wisconsin – which are certified as halal by Halal Transactions of Omaha and ISWA Halal, respectively. Certificates are valid for the Pennsylvania plants until mid-June 2025 and for the Wisconsin plant through 2024.
As for the poultry, it is all sourced through four different Sanderson Farms plants – one located in Louisiana, one in North Carolina, and two in Mississippi – which are certified as halal by HalalCo. Certificates for all four plants are valid until mid-April 2025, the week prior to finals week of the 2025 Winter semester. When needed, Metz will sometimes source halal meat, specifically chicken 8-cuts and chicken wings through local vendors, namely Saad Wholesale Meats, a butcher shop on Orleans St.
All halal certificates and documentation are readily available and can be verified with the Muslim Student Association or Nancy Preston.
The menu on the TV display in The Loft has been updated to show the Islamic crescent symbol next to any food item to indicate that it is halal. As a precautionary measure, neither the crispy chicken sandwich nor chicken tenders meals will have the crescent symbol next to them, but that does not necessarily mean they are not halal. Preston recommends that students ask the front chef if the fried chicken on a given day is halal or not before ordering.
On the other hand, the Subway continues to operate independently and does not serve halal meat, although pescatarian options – such as tuna – and vegetarian options are always available and, of course, halal-friendly.
Metz is meticulous with its work, and it ensures that all halal food is stored, prepared and served and plated separately to non-halal food.
A look at the kitchen confirms that the freezers contained halal ground beef, halal chicken breasts and thighs and halal turkey bacon, that two grills exist, one for halal items and one for non-halal items, and that three fryers also exist, one for halal items and gluten-free items (such as French fries), one exclusively for fish and the last one for non-halal items. As for the grill in The Loft, only halal items are allowed to be cooked on it, so there should not be any concerns with regards to impurity.
According to Preston, all beef hot dogs are halal as well.
Additionally, Preston has confirmed that absolutely no alcohol is used in the cooking process or ingredients in any recipe or dish made on-campus.
This addresses prior misconceptions that certain recipes at TDR, specifically pastas, use a vodka-based sauce; but this is not true as Metz is barred from using any alcohol (no matter the ABV amount) in its recipes.
On the University’s Corktown Campus (its dental school), which also houses an influx of Muslim students and staff, the following halal items are provided on a consistent basis in the dining room: turkey bacon, ground beef, chicken breast and thighs and beef hot dogs – all of which are sourced through US Foods, except the hot dogs, which come from Saad. Halal certificates for all of these are available with Preston.
The University of Detroit Mercy’s expanded halal food offerings demonstrate a growing commitment to inclusivity by ensuring Muslim students have accessible, compliant meal options directly on campus. As Preston emphasized, with the growing Muslim student body, for “every meal period, there has to be at least one halal option, whether it’s over there [Corktown Campus] or over here [McNichols Campus].”
