A New York-based organization which works to bring “culturally relevant” meals to school cafeterias is looking to expand into D.C.’s Wards 7 and 8. Red Rabbit currently serves meals at schools in the Big Apple, New Jersey and in Philadelphia.
“We try to provide them, to the best of our ability, with nutritious, culturally relevant, scratch made and soul-affirming foods so that they feel their best and are able to perform their best both inside the classroom and outside,” said Nausher Khan, vice president of partner relations for Red Rabbit — which calls itself a social justice organization.
The organization started providing meals in 2005 and is now studying the areas east of the Anacostia River, Khan said. The two wards were identified as having the most need, according to Khan, by examining socioeconomic indicators such as food insecurity levels, education attainment, literacy and even graduation rates.
While the exact meal needs are still being determined, Khan said by the start of the next school year, the organization hopes to begin providing meals to K-12 students.
He said the area they look to serve in D.C. appears to be similar to Philadelphia demographically. This includes a large percentage of African American and Latino students in need.
“We are still in the process of that fact-finding, of really getting to understand the cultures at a granular level in Wards 7 and 8, but at a larger bird’s eye view, this is what we have identified so far,” he said.
Khan said he could see meals they are serving elsewhere fitting in well in the two wards.
“Ropa vieja is a Cuban beef stew that is sort of ubiquitously appreciated by a lot of the cultures of the Caribbean. Similarly, pollo con arroz, which is chicken with rice, is again another sort of really popular menu with students from the Caribbean, or from Latin countries,” he said.
When cafeterias have space, Khan said they can open up a kitchen at a school, otherwise they can cook the daily meals elsewhere, and bring them into the cafeterias they support. They still don’t know which method would work best in the District.
From those who work with students, to organizations that already provide food assistance in areas that are considered food deserts, Khan said they are examining the area and hope to have more concrete plans over the next six months. Some of the conversations taking place include talks with possible partner organizations such as D.C. Hunger Solutions and DC Central Kitchen.
The plan is to grow the program and potentially reach out to areas of Maryland and Virginia down the road, he said.
“The aim is, with each successive year, we get to learn a little bit more and we get to expand our offering to make sure it is tailored to the needs of that community,” Khan said.
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