Chancellor Porter Announces Expansion of Schools Serving Halal Meals Pilot Program

NEW YORK – Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter announced today that New York City public schools are adding an additional eleven schools certified to serve meals as part of the Department of Education’s (DOE’s) halal in schools pilot program, bringing the total to 43 schools across the city. The added schools serve students and members of the public in Spanish Harlem, Harlem, Jamaica, Jackson Heights, and Soundview and were certified by the imams working with Majlis Ash-Shura, Islamic Leadership Council of New York. 

“As we come off the holy month of Ramadan, I am excited to celebrate the expansion of our program that certifies public school kitchens to serve halal meals,” said Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter. “Our incredible food service team continues to find ways to innovate and provide our students with healthy, nutritious, and culturally responsive meals, and I’m proud we are able to expand our meal service to meet the needs of even more observant students across the city.” 

“We are pleased to work with the Department of Education to build food equity for our children in New York City public schools. This program is essential to the health and wellbeing of New York Muslim students, and we are happy to see it expand just as Eid passes,” said Raja Abdulhaq, Executive Director of Majlis Ash-Shura: Islamic Leadership Council of New York. “The religious identity of all students should be respected, and we are happy to work with the Department of Education to provide this for Muslim students. We look forward to continuing our work together on this project to ensure our students always find lunch that fits their dietary needs.” 

This expansion builds on an in-school halal meal service pilot program that was launched during the 2019-20 school year in 32 schools across the city. This initiative was launched in partnership with the New York City Council to provide meals in the schools and neighborhoods with high demand for halal meals.  

To offer halal service in DOE kitchens, the Office of Food & Nutrition Services (OFNS) menus and products were reviewed and identified by a panel of imams hired by the Department’s halal consultant, Majlis Ash-Shura. Additionally, each school offering the halal options was inspected and certified by imams, and kitchen staff were trained to prepare food in compliance with halal rules. These steps are taken in close collaboration with the imams and the DOE’s halal consultant to ensure that standards are met. 

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DOE opened over 500 Meal Hub locations across the city, all of which served halal meals. During last year’s holy month of Ramadan, OFNS expanded operations to meet the needs of observant New Yorkers in areas with high demand. The schools included in today’s expansion will serve takeout meals to both students and the general public, and provide ongoing halal meal service to students beyond emergency meal service.

More information on how to access halal meals can be found at schools.nyc.gov/FreeMeals. A list of the locations can be found below, with the added locations marked as (New).

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