More residents have bought KFC since its Gainesville locations began to offer halal meat.
The national chain started selling halal options in certain restaurants about four months ago, said Jannatun Nessa, a shift supervisor at the Archer Road location.
Nessa said KFC chicken that includes bones is halal, but the boneless tenders are not.
“We have gained some customers from it,” she said.
Mehvish Quraishy, a 25-year-old UF second-year pharmacy graduate student, said she didn’t know about the change until recently.
Halal means “permitted” or “lawful” in Arabic, and only certain food meets the requirements of Islamic law.
For meat to be considered halal, the slaughtering process must be quick, causing the least amount of pain, Quraishy said.
A prayer is recited during the process, she said, and the meat must be clean and safe to eat.
Quraishy said she was raised to eat halal meat in a religiously conservative family.
“Halal meat is to Muslims as Kosher meat is to Jews,” she said.
Only a handful of restaurants offer halal options in Gainesville, most being sit-down restaurants, Quraishy said.
“Fast food is always convenient, especially when you are on the go,” she said.
