Stop ‘Lunch Shaming’ Asian Students, Montclair Advocates Say (VIDEOS)

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Rice balls. Curry. Pancit. Gimbap. Daal. Dumplings. The lunches that Montclair children bring to school are more than food: they’re a nourishing connection to family and heritage. But for some Asian American and Pacific Islander children – and others with culturally diverse foods – bringing lunch to school can become a source of shame and distress.

It doesn’t need to be, according to AAPI Montclair.

In an effort to put a stop to the teasing that some students face when they bring traditional cooking into the cafeteria, the group recently launched an awareness campaign dubbed “Love Your Lunch.” Learn more here.

The campaign encourages kids to be curious about foods from other cultures. Meanwhile, it also tries to show kids from AAPI households that they should be proud of their family’s traditions – not ashamed of them.

The group shared a story from a young girl, Annie, who spoke about the time she brought some rice wrapped in nori to eat for lunch in kindergarten. But when she sat down to eat, some other kids were “kind of really mean about it.”

She decided to move to another table. But the memory of the encounter stuck in her mind … and it’s one that other AAPI students have also faced, unfortunately.

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AAPI mental health professional Pauline Montemayor recalled being “food shamed” in elementary school and junior high school.

“It actually came from my teachers, so that was really hard for me because at the time I had no one to talk to and I ended up just feeling really embarrassed about the food I was eating, even though it tasted really good,” Montemayor said.

Hopefully, some education can help to turn the tide, according to AAPI Montclair.

Their campaign includes an art contest for K-12 students across New Jersey. Several local restaurants in Montclair will be displaying the artwork and donating prizes, including 7 Doors Down, Ani Ramen, Brick Lane Curry House, Bloom, and Local Coffee and Sushi Koshi.

Here are some other things that AAPI Montclair has been working on as part of the Love Your Lunch campaign:

• A social media campaign to raise awareness of the issue and share resources on talking with children about food acceptance (Instagram: @loveyourlunchorg)
• Donations of books about lunch shaming, food positivity, and diverse culinary traditions to all kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms in the Montclair Public Schools
• Giveaway boxes for New Jersey public school educators filled with books and guides to help children learn to celebrate and respect everyone’s lunch
• Guides for students, parents, and educators created by AAPI mental health professional Pauline Montemayor, with tips for coping with lunch-shaming and fostering a climate of acceptance for diverse cultures and foods

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