Khadija Malajati gave Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter a look at some of the meal options available at P.S. 83 in East Harlem Monday.

“We have basil, pesto, tomato and cheese panini, which is all halal items. We have milk choices, we have hummus grab-and-go, peanut butter, and we have different types of salads,” she said.

Meals like these are now available to thousands of children around the city, thanks to an expansion of the public schools halal foods pilot program. 

What You Need To Know

  • The city has added 11 schools to its halal food pilot program

  • That's in addition to 32 schools that began serving halal meals in 2019

  • In an effort to avoid singling children out, students don't have to request special meals

“I might walk out with a little hummus bread, if it’s ok,” Porter said.

Malajati is a school food service district supervisor for the Education Department, and for her, the program is a point of personal pride — because she’s also Muslim, and the mom of a public school student.

“For me, and parents like me, this means that we can send our children to school and not have to think twice about what they're getting from the cafeteria. We do not have to scramble to put together lunch every day. We can be confident that our children will get a good halal meal, alongside an excellent education,” she said.

And those children won’t have to feel different, because once a school is certified to serve halal meals, all the food on the menu will meet those requirements.

“We know that all children sometimes struggle with fitting in, and unfortunately the type of food you eat can make a student feel different and separate from their classmates. With this expansion, more students will feel at home in their schools,” she said.

The expansion of the pilot means that halal meals will now be available at 11 more schools around the city. That's on top of 32 schools where the pilot began in 2019.

Porter said it’s just another way schools are trying to offer culturally relevant experiences for students.

“Culture and diversity is more than just about what happens in classrooms between students and teachers, it's also about the food we eat, and how we break bread together,” Porter said.

And for families like Malajati’s, it will mean parents will have a little less on their plates, and more on their children’s lunch trays.

“I don't have to struggle anymore to pack the meals for my son, so I'll be very confident when he goes to school, he can have his part of the meals that are provided by the New York City Department of Education,” she said.

Those meals are available at the additional 11 schools immediately. 

Here’s a list of all the schools participating in the program, including the newly added locations:

The Bronx 

  • (New) PS 119 - 1075 Pugsley Avenue  
  • PS/IS 194 - 2365 Waterbury Avenue 
  • MS 127 (JHS 127) - 1560 Purdy Street  
  • PS 106 Parkchester - 1514 Olmstead Avenue             
  • Fannie Lou Hamer - 1021 Jennings Street  
  • PS 47 - 1794 East 172 Street  

Brooklyn 

  • PS159 - 2781 Pitkin Avenue  
  • PS 214 2944 Pitkin Avenue  
  • PS 179 202 Avenue C              
  • JHS 062 Ditmas - 700 Cortelyou Road           
  • PS 170 - 619 72nd Street  
  • PS/IS 104 - 9115 5 Avenue     
  • PS 253 - 601 Oceanview Avenue        
  • PS 119 Amersfoort - 3829 Avenue K              
  • PS 217 - 1100 Newkirk Avenue          
  • PS 139 - 330 Rugby Road       

Manhattan 

  • (New) PS 112 - 535 East 119 Street  
  • (New) The Lexington School - 131 East 104 Street 
  • (New) PS 83 - 219 East 109 Street                         
  • PS 36 - 123 Morningside Drive                              
  • JHS 52 - 650 Academy Street                                 
  • PS 132 - 185 Wadsworth Avenue               
  • PS 8 - 465 West 167 Street                         
  • PS 4 - 500 West 160 Street                                     
  • PS 192 - 500 West 138 Street       

Queens 

  • PS 64 - 82-01 101 Avenue              
  • IS 210 - 93-11 101 Avenue            
  • IS 137 - 109-15 98 Street                  
  • PS 100 - 111-11 118 Street                                     
  • PS 117 - 85-15 143 Street                                        
  • Thomas Edison HS - 165-65 84 Avenue                                         
  • Hillcrest High School - 160-05 Highland Avenue                          
  • JHS 8 Richard S Grossley - 108-35 167 Street                              
  • (New) J.H.S 217 Robert A. Van Wyck - 85-05 144 Street                         
  • (New) P.S 182 - 153-27 88th Avenue                     
  • (New) M.S 358 - 88-08 164th Street                       
  • IS 238 Susan B Anthony - 88-15 182 Street                                   
  • (New) P.S 095 - 179-01 90 Avenue                        
  • (New) P.S 131 Abigail Adams - 170-45 84 Avenue                           
  • PS 69 - 77-02 37 Avenue                            
  • (New) P.S 280 - 34-20 94th Street                         

Staten Island 

  • Curtis High School - 105 Hamilton Avenue                      
  • PS 22 - 1860 Forest Avenue               
  • CSI High School - 100 Essex Drive