Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Yvette Welsh adds turkey franks to the kettle. After they're cooked, they will be rolled in dough to become Pronto Pups.

Hot Dog Heaven

With standard meals including pizza, chicken nuggets, spaghetti, hamburgers and hot dogs, the Saratoga Union School District's lunch menu might sound like typically acceptable child's fare.

Yet given the cultural and ethnic diversity of the district's students, the menu is notable for its lack of ethnic cuisine. Interestingly, Saratoga Union's menu makes little accommodation for Asian diets, although more than one-third of the district's student population is Asian.

Should the district be doing more to accommodate its Asian students?

"I think it is appropriate to take the Asian population into account," said Warren Nguyen, manager of community relations and advocacy for Asian Americans for Community Involvement in San Jose. "So far, I haven't seen any menus cater toward the Asian population."

Although the district has the responsibility to serve all its students, deciding the most appropriate way to feed its Asian students is a complicated issue.

Ming Chiang and Jonathen Shih, both eighth-graders at Redwood School, have differing opinions on how much further the district should go to tailor menus for its Asian population.

Shih thinks the menu already includes enough Asian cuisine. "We have a lot of Asian [foods]--like egg rolls and a dish similar to chow mein," he said.

Chiang would like to see the district experiment more with Asian food. "I don't think too much about the school lunch program. But it would be nice if they could try [Asian dishes] a couple of times to see what the results are. They could provide an extra option," he said.

Parents also have differing points of view. Helen Yamauchi said that among the Asian parents she has talked to, no one is bothered by the lack of inclusion. However, Cynthia Chang thinks a better cultural mix in the menu could benefit the students of the district.

Anne Berger, child nutrition supervisor for the school district, explained how the district decides on its menu. First, it must follow federal government nutrition regulations. Beyond those regulations, the choice of what to serve depends on market factors. "The menu depends on the availability of commodity products that go into lunches children will eat," she said.

Based on a menu received from the district, a typical meal might include : spaghetti, green salad and banana; or, chicken nuggets, garden peas, whipped potatoes and apple juice; or, fried beef stew, hot roll, apple and "dino" surprise.

Typically, SUSD's menus don't include Asian meals, but Berger said this is not an intentional exclusion. "We try to keep the Asian population in mind. For instance, we use plain rice," Berger said. The district will try an Asian dish like sweet and sour pork or stir-fry perhaps two or three times a year, but these dishes aren't popular with Asian students, she added. Redwood School does serve egg rolls.

It is difficult for the district's food services staff to cook Asian meals, Berger continued. "It's hard to cook Asian dishes in bulk--they don't turn out right," she said, adding that she has not heard complaints from the Asian students about the menu.

A significant factor inhibiting school districts from experimenting with their menus is federal nutrition regulations. For instance, federal regulations state that districts must include portions of food from all four food groups in each meal. In addition, the only federally recognized sources of protein are meat, poultry, dairy or meat alternates, which include enriched macaroni with fortified protein, peanuts, soybeans, nuts, seeds, dry beans or peas. If a district wants to step outside federal guidelines, it will risk losing federal reimbursements.

The issue of noninclusion of Asian cuisine in school menus is not limited to Saratoga Unified. The Cupertino Union School District, which also has a student body that is over one-third Asian, does not make accommodations in its menu for Asian cuisine. Barbara Armstrong, public information officer for the Cupertino district, commented, "We don't make any accommodations for any specific population. Our menu is based on what sells within the health guidelines."

Jill Hunter, an SUSD school board member for eight years, has never heard any debate on including more Asian dishes in the menu. "There has never been an Asian parent who has asked me about the issue of Asian food on the menu," she said.

Nguyen said that although the Asian community often doesn't speak up as much as it needs to, he thinks there is potential for strong support in the community for school menus more inclusive of Asian diets. "The Asian community hasn't been very vocal--this has always been a problem. I think that if someone took the lead, the Asian community would advocate for the inclusion of foods," he said.

He added that Asian immigrants can have difficulty adjusting to the American diet, particularly to milk. "Milk is not a typical part of the Asian diet." He suggested that school lunches could include more items like fried rice and noodles for the Asian students.

Cynthia Chang, an SUSD school board member, agreed that Asian parents need to speak up more. "Asian families have a tendency to trust administrators with our kids. We think 'it's not our specialty.' I try to educate Asian parents that they need to express their opinions."

Chang said that she would prefer a mixture of cultures in the menus. "I respect all cultures," she said. She explained that since eating healthy is emphasized in the district, Asian dishes could be prepared as a healthy alternative, using a lot of vegetables. For instance, she said, the district could serve dishes such as fried rice or noodles mixed with vegetables.

Susan Campbell, director of the Healthy School Lunch Program for the EarthSave Foundation of Santa Cruz, said school districts need to get away from the common dishes served in school lunch programs.

"The Western diet is very typical in most schools--the typical fast-food diet," she said. "Districts could use more rice and vegetables. Other cultures don't have the same diseases we have." Campbell explained that the American diet is typically high in saturated fat, which can lead to diseases later in life.

Chang added that in this area, a culturally diverse school menu could be popular. "A lot of Caucasian kids like fried rice and noodles," she said.