Students can receive a little taste of black culture tonight.

A soul food dinner, sponsored by the Office of Minority Student Affairs, will start today at 4 p.m. in the McDonel Hall cafeteria. The event is part of the university’s Black History Month celebration which Thursday.

Soul food provides a sense of tradition and community, said Nikki O’Brien, coordinator for African American student affairs.

“When you bring people together around food, it nurtures the soul as well as the body, and it creates a connection or a common ground between people,” she said.

Four cooks will be brought in to prepare various soul food dishes, such as fried chicken, cornbread, catfish, macaroni and cheese, peach cobbler and sweet potato pie.

Performances by the dance and music troupe Amka Africa and the Sound Tribe and wax museum actors will also highlight the evening.

While soul food is rooted in black culture, students of all races can gain something from tonight’s dinner, said Murray Edwards, senior coordinator for Minority Student Affairs.

“It serves as a good addition to the activities for Black History Month since most of the programs deal with the African-American achievements, history or culture,” he said. “This is a great opportunity for students to get a taste of African American culture from a cuisine standpoint.”

The dinner is free to students with meal plans and dinner tickets can be purchased for those without a meal plan. For more information, call 353-7745.