In-Depth

CULTURAL CUISINE

Students reflect on the reception of their cultural foods at Westside

Paul Fiamaple, a sophomore with mixed Togolese and Ghanaian heritage, says he is hesitant to bring his home country’s food to school because of other students’ opinions, a sentiment shared by other Westside students with different cultural backgrounds.

“I don’t think I’ve [ever brought food to school], but that’s mostly because I don’t want to get judged or ‘oh what is that’ questions,” Fiamaple said. “I’m okay with the school food. [I wouldn’t bring my food because] some people aren’t open minded, they’re closed minded about the food that you eat, they think it’s gross or disgusting, or it’s weird. If someone comes up to me and is like ‘ugh, what is that?’ I get kind of ashamed, but I get over it quickly. I don’t really care what other people think [though]. If I’m eating good food, I’m eating good food. I don’t really care about [their] opinion because I love my home country’s food. It’s so much better than school food. I love fufu, jollof rice, yellow rice, there’s also plantains.”

Fiamaple explained that African food is especially important to African culture.

“It’s kind of what makes [Africans] different,” Fiamaple said. “I get that other cultures and races can eat [West African food], but these new foods with these new spices, it brings out a whole different flavor that you just can’t find here in America.”

Fiamaple said that it would be a large task to bring African food to Westside students’ plates, but he believes that students would be willing to try it, and many may even enjoy it. Some of his own friends have expressed their desire to experience Togolese and Ghanaian food. Fiamaple said it would be a good learning experience for Westside students to step out of their comfort zone to try new food. “I think it’s good for people to try new stuff, and they’ll never know if they like it or if they don’t like it if they never try it,” Fiamaple said. “They might actually open their mind and say, ‘wow, this is actually really good.’” Sarah Rizwan, a sophomore from India, feels that other students are very invasive when it comes to her home country’s food. “I used to bring food from home in elementary school, and I stopped bringing Desi food in the beginning of first grade because kindergarten was the worst in terms of [people] making fun of my food,” Rizwan said. “That was when I barely knew any English, so people were bullying me and I didn’t even understand them.”

Rizwan said, when kids are little, they tend to be judgmental of food that is new or different, but, as they grow up, they tend to become more interested in new foods, though they ask her weird or uncomfortable questions. If she’s eating something, she can’t eat in peace because she is bombarded by questions.

“I’m fine with answering those questions, but some of them are not kind and very invasive,” Rizwan said. “I would bring something from home, I’d bring roti and achaar for example, and they’d just question me, they’d say stuff like ‘what is that’ and ‘why does it smell like that’. They just ask a bunch of questions and they talk about how disgusting it is.”

According to Rizwan, bullying surrounding her food began in elementary school, and wound down as she entered middle school. However, she still felt uncomfortable bringing Desi food to school.

Rizwan said that bringing food to school doesn’t especially make her feel proud to be from India because she grew up surrounded by Desi food outside of school. While attending American schools, the situation became very different for Rizwan. She felt out of place, as she attended predominantly white schools with a very small immigrant population.

As the years have passed, Rizwan has become more secure in her view of her culture, and has become less embarrassed to bring her food to school.

During middle school, Rizwan said more people became interested in food different from their own, and started experimenting with their own versions of Indian food. She remembers an encounter with a girl who brought chicken tikka masala for lunch one day.

“It was bright red, there was some food coloring or something in it and it did not look accurate at all. It was neon. People like her would bring that food and [say], ‘oh look at me, I’m so Indian,’” Rizwan said. “I don’t think most [white students] are genuinely interested in [my food], they want to stay in their little bubble.”

When Rizwan brought her cultural food to school,

people would ask questions that she felt were judgmental.

“I guess the reason why they asked those invasive questions was because they didn’t know anything about it, and that says more about our education than anything else,” Rizwan said.

Rizwan believes the cafeteria does not expose students to authentic Asian cuisine.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen South Asian food in the cafeteria,” Rizwan said. “I feel like they have a few Asian dishes, but they’re not very accurate, and I think they should work on making the few things they have more culturally accurate rather than adding new ones.”

Lademi Davies is a junior from Nigeria who says bringing her food to school makes her proud of where she comes from.

“I started [bringing my food] around middle school, I would just bring rice, [and] probably not the most convenient dishes to bring to school, but I would bring them and people at my table would just be like ‘oh my God, what are you eating,’ and so I’d have to explain it all to them,” Davies said. “At first, I would be kind of scared to bring it to school, but when I got to high school I started bringing different stuff like jollof rice, and other stuff from Nigeria and people would just be like, ‘that looks really good, what are you eating?’ I kind of gained more confidence explaining what I was eating to them, [and] that’s kind of been my journey, so now I bring it to school all the time and it’s not a big deal anymore.”

Davies said that most students are curious when they first encounter her food, and usually ask a lot of questions. Davies suggested that her food doesn’t necessarily look that appealing to some people’s palates because they don’t always get exposed to other cultures’ food early on in their lives. Davies grew up eating Nigerian food, and finds it a bit difficult explaining each dish, because she’s so used to eating them.

“I grew up in that atmosphere and I know my niche, it’s harder to explain to kids that didn’t grow up in that atmosphere,” Davies said. “I’m probably the most Nigerian kid in the family because I’m probably the only kid who actually brings their food to school, but I definitely feel more like ‘you guys don’t get to enjoy the stuff I get to enjoy.’”

African dishes are among the most complicated cuisines to transport, as many pieces of each dish are best served hot. To combat

this, Davies uses a bowl-shaped Thermos to take her food to school. She’s used the device for a long time, yet still gets comments asking about the unique shape of her thermos. Davies’s food attracts more attention than traditional Westside lunches because of its unique smells.

“I [bring] things like jollof and fish. I like fish but some people don’t, so they usually say ‘ew,’” Davies said. “I feel bad that they have to smell it, but other than that it’s not that big of a deal.”

Overall, Davies is proud to bring her Nigerian food to school, and hopes that more culturally diverse foods are introduced to people in the future.

“I’m proud to be the person that I grew up being and I’m glad that I can have all these experiences even if other people don’t have them with me,” Davies said. “Our culture is very food-centric and that’s kind of how we bond with people and that’s how we introduce others to Nigerian culture, [so] I think it would be cool if there were a little more international options to introduce kids. I understand the limitations they might have and you know it’s school food and people have allergies and stuff, but it would be really cool to introduce more countries’

food to the cafeteria and more people would be exposed to it and find something that they like, so they can dive deeper into that culture.” Rizwan agrees that food is a vital part of her culture. “I view food as an important part of my Indian

I don’t really care what other people think [though]. If I’m eating good food, I’m eating good food. I don’t really care about [their] opinion because I love my home country’s food. - Paul Fiamaple, sophomore

heritage because that’s how people talk to each other, and food is a way of sharing and celebrating,” Rizwan said. “Anything you can think of has food in it.”

Ramiro Torres is a sophomore from México who doesn’t feel that his food is especially unique based off of the exposure it already has.

“Honestly, I have never [brought my food to school], but I know I would like it because it’s different from American food,” Torres said. “However, I know a whole bunch of people here have had it before, so it’s not really special. They’d be interested, because everyone is different here.”

Torres doesn’t see much Hispanic food in Westside’s cafeteria, and doesn’t believe that it is authentic when it is offered.

“It’s alright, you don’t really see [Hispanic food in the cafeteria]. I don’t think it’s authentic. To be honest, I don’t know why I don’t bring it. You don’t know how people are gonna react, so I just don’t bring it. I’m worried about what people would say.”

Westside High School offers numerous meal options, along with an assortment of pre-packaged snacks. Nutritional requirements are expected to be met in every food item available to students, and a careful process of selecting acceptable food products takes place long before students see items on the shelves.

Westside operates under the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) formulated National School Lunch Program, which has historically created many nutritional regulations inside of schools.

“The [regulations] were mostly versed on safety of a product, the nutritional side of things was kind of an afterthought,” said Erin Vik, Director of Nutrition Services in District 66. “Then, when people really started to look at the health of our nation, [nutrition] kind of became the focus of [the food regulations].”

According to Vik, what current Westside students know as the Cafe Express used to be known as the Warrior Hut, which served fresh cookies, hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza slices from Pizza Hut. The sparse health requirements have since become more thorough with different presidential administrations, and Westside’s partner, Pizza Hut, could no longer serve food daily.

Today, elements of a balanced meal are much more important for school-served meals.

“The five components are protein, milk, fruits, vegetables and whole grains,” said Jennifer Allen, a Westside Nutrition Specialist. “Out of those [components], three of them have to be [used] for a complete meal.”

Vik explains that, according to USDA guidelines, meals with less nutritional value, such as pizza, must be served with an additional grain component that creates a more balanced plate. The ratios of components vary at different ages, and the appropriate servings are reflected in the meals served. “[The] elementary, middle, and high schools all have different requirements as far as the amount of total calories they can have, the amount of fat that they can have and the amount of sodium [they can have],” Allen said. Vik said sodium is an area being discussed for its nutritional value on school lunches. “There are some stipulations with [sodium] which would really minimize the amount of sodium that goes into food,” Vik said. “Some would argue that’s a great thing [for health], and others would argue ‘yeah but no one’s going to eat [the meal without salt].’” Vik and Allen both agree that Westside accounts for the actual taste of the food being served when it must follow the guidelines. Packaged snacks follow similar regulations in order to be served in school areas, like in the Cafe Express.

“[Packaged snacks] are under the Smart Snack Guidelines that we have,” Allen said. “Smart Snacks can [have] a certain amount of fat, calories, and sodium, and if they don’t fall into [the guidelines], then we can’t serve it.”

While following USDA requirements, Westside works to find the familiar, visually appealing packaged snack products that students are more likely to purchase.

“We see a lot of sales folks that come in and bring us items that will fit [the] nutritional [requirements], but no one knows what the package t looks like,” Vik said. “We try to look for things that fit our nutritional [needs], but also something that fits into the real-world.”

Similar to grocery stores, items that are not selling are not going to be purchased by the school and continually put for sale. Vik said there is no point to just filling the shelves, so discovering what is best for students requires changes in what is being served.

“The product itself, if the nutritional [components] fit,

REGULATIONS would get through the door,” Vik said. “Beyond that, the quickest and easiest way for us to find out if something is worth putting on the shelves in [the Cafe Express] is if it’s not selling. There’s constant shifting and shoveling.” & REASONINGS Even with efforts to sell recognizable products, some snack foods are unique to schools. More health conscious versions of snacks that can not be found in grocery stores are supplied to schools, such as whole wheat versions of Pop-Tarts. With additional supply constraints in America FOR SCHOOL due to COVID, the school is finding it difficult to stock the shelves with prepackaged snacks that rely on the producers and shippers. “Right now we are having a huge difficulty [getting LUNCH FOOD products],” Vik said. “There are a lot of logistical and supply issues, and [pre-packaged items] are becoming extremely challenging [to obtain].” To ease the effects of the pandemic on families, Westside has been able to offer reimbursable breakfasts and lunches How our cafeteria this school year through the government lunch organizations they participate in, like USDA. “Those three components [for a complete meal] are foods are chosen t the baseline for the reimbursable meal,” Allen said. “Breakfast and lunch are free and we would love [Westside students] to take advantage of that.” Vik and Allen believe the National Lunch Program will continue to evolve with new health requirements, and Westside will continue to change available snack foods. Despite the rules school lunch food must follow, Vik does not let regulations get in the way of an enjoyable lunch. “There are certain requirements we have to focus on as far as the health and nutritionals of the product, and the menus and the recipes that we put together,” Vik said. “But “But in t he en d, if it ’s not so met hing that the students like [ an d ] enj oy , t hen it ’s no t some t hing t ha t we’ re going o want o serve. ” -Erin Vik in the end, if it’s not something that the students like [and] enjoy, then it’s not something that we’re going to want to serve.”

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Nutritional specalists reflect on their average day

With hundreds of hungry students going through the courtyard lines everyday, the job of a Westside High School nutritional server can be challenging. Students only see these hardworking staff members for their 35 minute lunch mod, but they spend their whole day making food service centers run. For nutritional servers like and Naj Chatman who work in the Courtyard and in Cafe Express, a typical workday means lots of preparation to feed Westside students and staff.

“When I get here, we start hamburgers, cheeseburgers, grilled chicken, [and] lunch,” Chatman said. “Once we start that and finish [lunch] preparation, [we] then [take] a lunch [break] really quick and then, if we have enough staff, we come down to The Cafe. The best part of my day is opening the Cafe, I love being down there.”

The Cafe Express appears to be a fan favorite by many of the students at Westside. When The Cafe is open, Haddadin confesses her favorite part of the job is the students. “I love my job,” Haddadin said. “I love the kids. I love being able to take care of them and offering them the food and nutrition they need to succeed.” When Haddadin isn’t working at The Cafe, she takes on other responsibilities of Foods and Nutrition throughout the building. “Sometimes you get to see us as cashiers, sometimes you get to see us as ... lunch ladies, or serving in the line, [as well as] everything else,” Haddadin said.

Haddadin said she favors working in The Cafe because she’s able to interact with more students.

“At The Cafe, we feel that we have more chances to be creative, more chances to build lunches and [make] some lunch ideas that the kids love,” Haddadin said. “This is the best part of our job, [when] we can communicate with you guys [and] have a personal relationship. We try to know you by name, we try to know what makes you happy, we try to know what helps you to succeed in school, we don’t just care about you physically, but we care about what you guys go through in life. We are here not only to feed you, but to give you a listening ear too. We can give you advice or help you in any matter. [That] is why we love our job.” Haddadin said.

At Westside, the Foods and Nutrition servers love knowing that they can play a part in students’ lives and help students succeed academically as well as in life.

Nutritional Server Rania Haddadin