While the average Harvard student heroically attempted to eat dining hall food and make conversation with roommates across the table last Thursday night, 20 Lowell House residents dined on artichokes with Robert Redford.

Redford and the artichokes were featured at one of the Ford Dinners, a Lowell House series of catered dinners starring distinguished personalities as guests.

The dinners are funded by the Ford Foundation grant, an endowment which gives each of the Harvard Houses approximately $2,000 a year to spend towards "faculty-student interaction," William H. Bossert, acting master of Lowell House, said yesterday.

A little over half the portion allotted Lowell House will be spent on the Ford Dinners, and the rest will go to other faculty-student functions such as language tables and museum tours, Bossert said.

Many of the other Harvard Houses use the grant for functions that feature Harvard faculty members rather than personalities from outside the University.

Unlike Lowell, many of the other Houses attempt to defray ever-rising costs by spending money on refreshments like wine, sherry and coffee rather than catered dinners.

Kenneth R. Andrews, master of Leverett House, said yesterday the reason for the money shortage is that the budget for house expenditures has not risen in proportion to the increased need for expenses.