Muslim students eating halal usually have only a few options in the school’s cafeteria line when they pass burgers, chicken nuggets and deli sandwiches.
“There aren’t many healthy and fulfilling options,” said Khadija Basith, whose children attend Forest Glen Elementary School in Glen Elin. “Even if you don’t have a halal option, I’d at least want to see them offering good vegetable burgers and good fish wraps.”
Halal refers to foods that are permitted in accordance with Islamic rules. Meats such as chicken and beef are halal depending on how the animal is treated, slaughtered and prepared. For example, pork is by no means halal. Students who follow the Halal Rules tend to choose vegetarian meals and seafood and play safely.
Basith’s is one of many Muslim families who have had to be even more conscientious about what their children were consuming at school for decades.
However, the Illinois mandate signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on March 21 brings peace of mind as schools will soon need it to offer halal options.
The Plate By Plate Act, also known as Halal/Kosher Bill, ensures that facilities such as public schools and state-run or state-run facilities, prisons and hospitals that provide food service and cafeteria services will provide halal and kosher food options on request, making Illinois the first state in the country. The law gives schools and other state-owned institutions 12 months to implement the infrastructure necessary to provide halal and kosher meals.
The bill, originally drafted in 2023 and rejected last year, has been revived with the support of the Illinois Board of Education. Now a leading House sponsor, state Rep. Kevin John Orichal, stated that the estimated cost of the program is between $10 million and $20 million in the first year, depending on competition between vendors. Orichal said the mandate is subject to expenditures and will only be enforced if the state budget includes halal and kosher meal funds.
“I really hope that works. If I find it fits the guidelines and if they really are clear and paying attention while checking all the boxes in the Halal guidelines, I will definitely buy a kids’ lunch program (at school),” says Basith.
The only Muslim parents are not Muslims who are slowly moving on with the monumental laws as EC.
Shahana Khundmiri, a mother of three — two middle schoolers at Hadley Middle School and a high school student at Glenbird West — said she remembers the experience of attending public schools and “seeing others eating a variety of foods.”
As her children were growing up, Kundomiri took the time to explain why she chose Halal rather than simply banning her from eating pepperoni pizza at school.
“The older two were on board for reasons we shouldn’t eat non-halal, but I think one of my youngest kinds had a hard time (at school). “And I told her about the importance of it and why we prefer halal meat. It’s of better quality and it doesn’t have all different hormones, and the animals slaughtering people have to make the animals feel comfortable.
Khundmiri said the new law makes many Muslim moms in her network wonder whether the proper process of halal meat will be filled with such high, statewide volumes. Khundmiri, like many others, is strict about the flesh being injured by hand to ensure proper halal guidelines found in meat and hadith. This is a collection of practices and proverbs of the Prophet Muhammad, and constitutes an important source of guidance for Muslims.
Imran Qasim, who works with the American Halal Food Standard Alliance, said the topic of hand and machine genocide is deeply contested and controversial in the Muslim community with varying opinions on each method.
Qasim said mechanical genocides are common in standard poultry in the United States, but he added that it is not a preferred method for halal for several reasons. In many cases, instead of the slaughter reciting the name of God to individual animals with proper intentions, pre-recorded audio is played on the conveyor belt when the chicken is machine slaughtered. Sometimes, birds become gaseous or uneven before being killed by a rotating blade, causing the animal to suffer more pain than necessary.
Qasim said HFSAA, one of many halal accreditation organizations in the United States, accepts manual poultry as the minimum accreditation standard. The hand wound method used a sharp knife to cut the carotid artery in the animal, resulting in a sudden, virtually painless death.
Maria Mozaffer, an Illinois lawyer and legislative drafter, said she wrote faith and competition, but said conversations about the guidelines occur before funding is secured.
“The approach is comprehensive for anyone if they make a mistake on the part of the most conservative halal guidelines,” Mosafer said. “The law also opens the door for other faith groups to defend religious adherence to food in state-funded systems.”
Members of the Orthodox Jewish community have followed a “very complicated” process to maintain kosher, Rabbi Silomo Soroka, director of government affairs for Agdas Israel in Chicago-based Illinois, worked with Mozafer on the bill.
“When it comes to being sensitive to faith-related dietary restrictions, it is important for the Jewish community that other faiths and Muslim communities share that sentiment with other faiths that may have dietary restrictions,” Soroka said. “It’s natural that we need to support each other.”
Amina Barmi, the defence and policy leader of the Muslim Civic Union, said the deployment of the bill will slowly and steadily. First, Barhumi said lawmakers and supporters will take advantage of the experience of agencies and agencies that have already implemented halal and kosher options before the law is passed.
Barhumi added that foodservice workers should also train them on concerns about contamination cross-contamination, such as separating knives and tools between different food groups.
Eric Deporter, a financial, facility and operations aide at Glen Ellin School District 41, said in April it would introduce what is called the “halal-friendly” option through food service provider Quest. The move is not a result of the bill, but a request from the community, including Khundmiri, who frequently emailed Deporter about the addition of halal menu items.
Deporter said he was fully aware of the questions raised in the term “halal-friendly” as many parents in the district particularly want a halal-certified diet.
“This is one thing about this that we’re still navigating,” Deporter said. “We are presenting halal-friendly options. This is entirely based on the limits of physical space in one kitchen. We separate the preparations as much as possible, but we can’t prove that there is no cross-contact. So we went with our parents and our parents were very happy even with halal-friendly options.”
Deporters hope that the district can do more as state laws are implemented. For now, he is focused on providing parents and students with what they want.
Khundmiri said he was excited that the district followed the request of his parents, but waits before the kids can choose the halal-friendly orange chicken for their new lunch menu.
“We are really excited that our district will be offering halal food and we are very pleased with the bill, but we are just waiting for the entire accreditation process,” Khundmiri said.
Asma Ahad, director of halal market development at the American Islamic Food and Nutrition Council, said that the most important factor to keep in mind is very simple as lawmakers, advocacy groups and stakeholders will carry out their duties. “Halal is more than just meat.”
“Halal, like any other program, is a compliance program that requires verification,” Ahad says. “We have to move on to the next stage and do it the right way with monitoring, guidelines and training. When they practice this, Illinois needs to do these three things to succeed.”
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