By SDCN Staff
San Diego, CA–The San Diego Unified School District will offer ‘to-go meals’ to students fasting during Ramadan.
The district’s Food and Nutrition Services Department, known as Sandi Coast Cafe, has developed a specific menu for the campaign, promoting nutrition security and health equity for its students.
The program is made possible by a waiver by the California Department of Education, granting school districts the ability to serve non-congregate meals as part of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. Participants in Ramadan generally fast between sunrise and sunset, leaving school meal serving times inaccessible for those students.
“This waiver from the state, combined with the hard work of our nutrition staff, and cooperation with school site leaders, will allow us to better serve all of our students and families,” says Alicia Pitrone Hauser, Director of Food and Nutrition Services for San Diego Unified. “For students fasting during Ramadan, this program allows us to send meals home with children to meet their nutrition needs once the daily fast has concluded.”
San Diego Unified is one of only five districts in the county offering a new meal option for students observing Ramadan.
“I have never heard of a food program like this. I’m happy that this will be offered to my children as they fast during Ramadan,” said Mohammad Jawad Shirzai, a parent at Mira Mesa High School. “The United States has a lot of positive things but one of the greatest things about this country is that they are accepting people from all backgrounds, ideologies, beliefs & religions.”
The Ramadan To Go Meals campaign will begin on February 24 and run through March 28. Sandi Coast Cafe has developed a special menu of pre-cooked and packaged meals that can be taken home and easily prepared.
Families are asked to fill out a Ramadan meals request form, similar to those used for field trips and other offsite locations. Children or their parents and guardians will pick up meals at their school site at the end of each school day. Each day’s package will contain one breakfast and one lunch per student.
To learn more about the Ramadan To Go Meals from the Sandi Coast Cafe, click here.
