Rostam Shirzai has thought about what it will be like to fast during Ramadan for the first time at an American school. The Mira Mesa High School ninth grader moved to the U.S. with his family from Afghanistan eight months ago.
Once Ramadan starts, he’ll wake up at 4 a.m., eat, then fast from dawn to sunset. He said he’ll tell his friends he’s not going to be as active.
“I’m not going to have that energy, like, in the last hours of school,” Rostam said. “Maybe I'm not going to spend that much time with them, too.”
During lunch, he’ll go to his school’s psychology classroom. It’s where Muslim students go to pray. Instead of going on walks with his friends, he’ll save his energy and do homework instead.
“You kind of change in that time,” he said. “It’s going to be a relaxed month.”
Rostam will still be able to eat school meals during Ramadan. A new waiver from the California Department of Education allows districts to send breakfast and lunch home with students so they can eat when they’re not fasting.
San Diego Unified said it’s one of just five districts in the county offering to-go meals for students observing Ramadan.
“This waiver from the state, combined with the hard work of our nutrition staff, and cooperation with school site leaders, will allow us to better serve all of our students and families,” Alicia Pitrone Hauser, the district’s director of food and nutrition services, said in a statement. “For students fasting during Ramadan, this program allows us to send meals home with children to meet their nutrition needs once the daily fast has concluded.”
Rostam's dad, Mohammad Jawad Shirzai, said he appreciates that the district is thinking about kids like his.
“When we respect our beliefs, it is something good,” he said. “We can have a better life with each other.”
Photo credit: Mathew Bowler, KPBS. Story Credit. Katie Anastas, KPBS. Read entire article: https://www.kpbs.org/news/education/2025/02/26/san-diego-unified-is-offering-school-meals-to-go-during-ramadan