Ohio University’s College of Health Sciences and Professions (CHSP) will hold a pre-Thanksgiving feast from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 20, in Grover Center’s first-floor atrium for its international students to give them a taste of the American holiday. 

Students from more than 100 countries are enrolled at Ohio University, many of whom are unable to return to their home country to return for their own holidays, so CHSP’s Atrium Cafe is spreading a table for the college’s 40 or so international students, along with family and guests. The menu will include Thanksgiving staples such as turkey and dressing, as well as some culinary twists such as roasted local root vegetables, beet and goat cheese salads and pumpkin cannoli. 

The event is the brainchild of Fran McFadden, assistant professor of food and nutrition sciences and manager of CHSP’s Atrium Café. McFadden organized a similar event for international students at Philadelphia’s Drexel University, where he taught before coming to Athens in 2008. 

“It was a wonderful experience for both the American students and faculty hosting the event, as well as for our international students, who had the experience of a true American feast and holiday,” McFadden said of the Drexel event. 

Several CHSP faculty and staff members have volunteered to help serve during the festivities, which McFadden describes as a way to get a head start on the holiday spirit.