O.C. Schools Supporting Fasting Students with Take-Home Meal Kits during Ramadan
"We are proud to ensure that students will continue to have access to free breakfast and lunch during Ramadan fasting."
Muslim students in three Orange County school districts are being offered a new service during Ramadan, a holy month of fasting, prayer, and community that is expected to begin February 28 and last through March 30.
Starting March 3, the Garden Grove Unified School District and the Anaheim Union High School District will provide take-home meal kits for students who are fasting during the school day.
“With 81% of students being socio-economically disadvantaged, we are proud to ensure that students will continue to have access to free breakfast and lunch during Ramadan fasting,” GGUSD spokesperson Abby Broyles wrote in an email to Spotlight Schools.
“AUHSD is committed to accommodating the diverse needs of our community,” reads a post on the district’s Instagram account. “This program is a reflection of our dedication to ensuring that all students have access to nutritious meals, even during special observances like Ramadan.”
Little Arabia, an enclave that is home to thousands of Arab Americans, straddles both school districts.
The California Department of Education, which pays school districts to provide students with free breakfast and lunch every school day, now allows take-home meals for students who are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. The goal: “To promote nutrition security and health equity and to ensure children have access to the nutrition they need,” according to the CDE website.
The districts needed to apply for a waiver from the CDE to participate. About a dozen GGUSD families have signed up for the service and Broyles expects more will sign up soon. Students must attend school to receive the meal kit.
Garden Grove families just need to submit a form to their school’s principal. While AUHSD has a Google form to fill out for “nutritious, meatless items that vary by site that will require heating at home.”
AUHSD has over 65 students signed up, according to AUHSD spokesperson John Bautista. He said that AUHSD Food Services will also provide Ramadan Food Kits to Anaheim Elementary School District students.
During Ramadan, practitioners of Islam do not eat or drink between dawn (sunrise) and dusk (sunset). While children are not required to participate in the fasting, many choose to do so. Observant Muslims break their daily fast after sundown with a meal known as iftar. The dates of Ramadan change each year because it is based on the lunar calendar.
The Los Angeles office of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) commended the moves by the AUHSD and GGUSD to provide to-go meals to fasting students.
“We hope that more school districts will take similar steps to ensure Muslim students feel seen and valued at school, not only during Ramadan but year-round,” CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said in a statement.
CAIR-LA issued guidance to school administrators in February on navigating religious accommodation during Ramadan. The letter encouraged educators to speak openly about Ramadan to make fasting students feel more comfortable. Schools were also encouraged to give students extra breaks to pray, allow students to reschedule exams, and permit modifications for physical activity.
"As educators, your awareness and small acts of understanding can make an incredible difference in [students'] experience at school," the guidance reads.
California has recently enacted laws that focus on K-12 students during Ramadan. Assembly Bill 2377, approved last year, ensures students who are fasting during Ramadan are giving accommodation during P.E. classes. Assembly Bill 1503, which took effect last year, grants students a full day of excused absence time per semester to observe religious holidays, such as Eid al-Fitr, which is celebrated at the end of Ramadan.
Reporting contributed by Germaine Neumann-Chau.