Share you culture, but not your food?
Policy disappoints Language Day participants
Donna P. Crilly
Issue date: 5/19/09 Section: News
Traditionally at San Diego City College, the annual Language Day fair invites students to taste the culture of each country at booths sharing food with interested passers-by.
However, during Language Day last year, the cafeteria abruptly shut down each booth in Gorton Quad, ordering them to throw away all food brought, wasting more than $400, according to Jaime Estrada, chair of the Language Department.
"It was very unfortunate. I had to throw food away that I paid for myself because I didn't have an ice container for the apple strudel and bratwurst," said Astrid Ronke, German language instructor.
Ronke wasted about $40 dollars of her own money that day and was told that she would only be allowed to bring packaged food with a shelf-life.
At the 2009 Language Day event, which took place on April 22, the German booth were sampling Storck Chocolate Reisens and Ritter Sport German candies.
"A lot of students came back saying 'where's the bratwurst?'" explained Ronke.
Not being able to serve food at the annual Language Day affects the fair; it affects the ability for students to really know what the food from each culture tastes like instead of looking at pictures of cultural food posted at each booth, according to Ronke.
There are very specific rules that the California Code of Regulations outlines on serving food, according to Gayla Pierce, district food service manager.
"A lot of the vendors cannot comply," said Pierce, referring to the health code guidelines set for vendors who usually participated in the Language Day fair. Pierce states this could be a huge liability for San Diego Community College District if food is served from each individual booth.
"We're all the same person, we can all get a bacteria," said Ronke. "It's foregrounds because they need something."
Ronke, as well as certain unnamed students and faculty, members speculate that the cafeteria doesn't want events such as this to hurt profits for the day.
However, during Language Day last year, the cafeteria abruptly shut down each booth in Gorton Quad, ordering them to throw away all food brought, wasting more than $400, according to Jaime Estrada, chair of the Language Department.
"It was very unfortunate. I had to throw food away that I paid for myself because I didn't have an ice container for the apple strudel and bratwurst," said Astrid Ronke, German language instructor.
Ronke wasted about $40 dollars of her own money that day and was told that she would only be allowed to bring packaged food with a shelf-life.
At the 2009 Language Day event, which took place on April 22, the German booth were sampling Storck Chocolate Reisens and Ritter Sport German candies.
"A lot of students came back saying 'where's the bratwurst?'" explained Ronke.
Not being able to serve food at the annual Language Day affects the fair; it affects the ability for students to really know what the food from each culture tastes like instead of looking at pictures of cultural food posted at each booth, according to Ronke.
There are very specific rules that the California Code of Regulations outlines on serving food, according to Gayla Pierce, district food service manager.
"A lot of the vendors cannot comply," said Pierce, referring to the health code guidelines set for vendors who usually participated in the Language Day fair. Pierce states this could be a huge liability for San Diego Community College District if food is served from each individual booth.
"We're all the same person, we can all get a bacteria," said Ronke. "It's foregrounds because they need something."
Ronke, as well as certain unnamed students and faculty, members speculate that the cafeteria doesn't want events such as this to hurt profits for the day.
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