food diversity ways to celebrate in your cafes by Pisanick Partners 10
Look into any school cafeteria and you are likely to see kid-friendly“American food”such as burgers, pizza and nuggets as the menu staples. Yet, one of the great things about America is the racial and ethnic diversity of its population and the array of customs, languages, religions, celebrations and food traditions that each population brings with them. Take a look into your cafeteria. What are the demographics of your students? Do you have foods on the menus that would make ALL children in your cafeteria feel like they belong and their traditions are valued? Incorporating culturally appropriate foods on school menus provides the opportunity not only to increase participation among specific populations, but it also gives their classmates the opportunity to learn about, explore and participate in enjoying those foods. We offer these strategies to incorporate more cultural diversity on your menus. Are students and parents whose primary language is not English able to read and understand what is on your menu? If your menu software offers translation capabilities, educate families who would benefit from this feature about how it functions. Offer to #1 Ensure menu understanding for all.
print your menus for non-English speaking families into their native language which can easily be done with various apps such as Google Translate. #2 Involve your parents in your menu development. Ask your parents to send in their favorite family recipes and then make them school friendly (sorry Grandma, your recipe has WAY too much butter!). We took a grandma’s favorite Chicken Paprikash Soup Recipe and adapted it to K12 compliance. There are vast number of untapped resources in the family customs and recipes right in your own backyard. Highlight these recipes with an event celebrating “try day” recipes with cultural traditions and flavors representing the diversity in your school community! #3 Utilize resources that offer culturally diverse school recipes. All editions of our cookbook feature ‘GOT Recipes’. We say GOT (Global on Trend) but might as well say “GOAT” - greatest of all time. Take your taste buds on vacation with these well traveled recipes that stamp your
Powered by FlippingBook