Halal in Arabic means “permissible.” In Islam, there are certain dietary requirements that are mandatory; the ones that are acceptable are Halal, similar to how Kosher foods are acceptable by those who practice Judaism, and the ones that are not acceptable are Haram.
More than 15% of the students in the school practice Islam and eat Halal food. This matter was discussed among some of the Muslim students, including 10th graders Papia Aziz, Nazifa Chowdhury and Abeda Shashi, regarding their experiences in the cafeteria.
After asking them whether they think the food served to them during lunch and breakfast are Halal, Aziz said, “Not all the time. Sometimes it looks too similar to the other lunches that aren’t Halal. Sometimes I’m also not sure about the meat they serve.”
Shashi agreed and said, “It’s too risky, I don’t want to eat Haram food accidentally, especially if it’s against my religion to.”
“Maybe we should just ask the lunch ladies,” Chowdhury said.
Ms. Colin, one of two lunch ladies at DIA, explained that DIA is working with U.S. Foods and it provides the meals. The Halal meals also come from that same service provider, she said.
On the U.S. Foods’ webside, it indicates it works with Halal Foodservice. Its website includes information concerning the Halal foods. For more information on this service, go to www.halalhealthy.com or call 1-888-HALAL-12.