.png){kind=small}
When you think of school cafeteria food, what comes to mind first? Pizza, hotdogs, tacos, etc. The general image of school food is a bunch of mostly Western foods. However, in the last few years, students and schools have been pushing to include more diverse foods in school cafeterias. The reason behind this? Many problems stem from the current food options in most cafeterias where the needs of many students are unmet. So, what can be done?
As it stands, students with dietary restrictions often have nothing to eat in lunchrooms. Vegetarian, non-pork, dairy-free, and other restrictions make most cafeteria food unavailable to students. To combat this, including more culturally diverse foods in cafeteria menus can provide options for students with such dietary restrictions. Take, for example, the Burlington district in Vermont. This district is home to many refugee students, with those students speaking 56 different languages and coming from families with just as many unique food traditions. To better serve Muslim students, they replaced pork hotdogs with beef hotdogs.
Furthermore, noticing the needs of the Nepalese community, they switched from beef to turkey. Doug Davis, the food service director at the school, stated, “They might not choose to eat it, but they can,” he said. “It’s hard to tell a seven-year-old, ‘This hot dog is okay, and that hot dog isn’t.’’’ This addition of diverse food options promotes inclusivity among students hailing from all kinds of backgrounds.
Another reason for implementing diversity in food is to make students feel at home. The difference between eating food from your own culture and not is massive. Take, for example, the school district in Arizona with a high population of Hispanic students. Schools in that district have been very successful with their inclusion of traditional Hispanic food in cafeteria menus. Not only does it improve the school experience for students whose cultural foods are underrepresented, but it also provides a learning opportunity for other students who may have never encountered such varieties of food. Food is an essential part of human culture as a whole, as people who have nothing in common can bond over the shared experience of enjoying a hot meal. Experiencing a plethora of culturally diverse dishes in school leads to adults who are more open-minded and culturally inclusive. After all, our country is built upon the culmination of thousands of cultures. Yet even with these benefits, many schools are having trouble bringing diversity into their menus.
The first issue that comes to mind is budget. To put it bluntly, fast foods like pizza are not only more enticing to students but significantly cheaper. With regulations put in place on the price of school lunches, it’s difficult to make culturally diverse dishes that stay true to tradition on a budget. Ingredients like herbs and spices, as well as unique ingredients for such dishes, can't easily fit into the typical $3.00 lunch. Another issue stemming from budget problems is the fact that students may not want to try culturally diverse options in favor of familiar Western foods. So, even if money and effort are spent on including these options, they may be wasted. Even through these problems, organizations like Farm to School (NFSN) are working to implement culturally relevant and diverse options in cafeterias nonetheless. The ultimate goal is cafeterias with cultural foods for all students to enjoy and share.
Unfortunately, there are many problems left even after ethnic foods are implemented in cafeterias. With the infinite kinds of traditional foods, it’s impossible to perfectly cook each dish. This leads to students feeling dissatisfied with “ethnic” foods, as they are often Westernized versions that don’t reflect the food’s cultural origins. This leads to feelings of exclusion and homesickness. Issues with quality and authenticity among cultural foods lead students to feel that the implementation of culturally diverse foods is superficial and that they fail to genuinely represent the diversity of students. Instead, it gives the impression of a “commodified” version of their traditional cuisine. This leads to student voices critiquing the current state of diverse dishes in cafeterias.
Even with all these problems, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The voices of students and the economic interests of the government and students offer valid criticisms of the current state of affairs. While there is no universal solution, there are still things that can be done. With programs that supply cultural and fresh ingredients to schools like NFSN, the budget problems can be mitigated, and students can enjoy traditional ingredients in cafeterias. Learning the traditional preparations of dishes and listening to student voices can help lunch workers ensure that their dishes adhere to the true cultural origins of the cuisine they serve. Whether you are a student, teacher, parent, lunch worker, or anyone else, we all stand to benefit from including more cultural diversity in cafeterias. Students enjoy more options and comfort in familiar foods, while lunch workers get to broaden their horizons with more diverse recipes and techniques. Parents and teachers alike get to watch their students grow into more cultured and open-minded individuals. So, what are you waiting for? Rally to bring culture to cafeterias near you.
Comments