Leonard Berkowitz writes:
>While a vegetarian meal will meet the requirements of many people who are
>Kosher, it will not satisfy everyone. This is not to be critical of the
people
>who are planning the event, but just to point out that some people who will
be
>told that "Kosher food will be provided" and who will be disappointed.
>I'd be happy to advise whoever is responsible for this.
The confusion here regarding Kosher is wholly my responsibility -- and please
let me apologize for that. We most certainly want everybody to have a good
time -- and we want to do everything we can to make everyone feel as
comfortable at the event as possbile. However, some tolerance is probably
going to be necessary.
The food is being prepared by the Loara High School Booster Club. They're not
a professional food service organization. Most likely, they're just parents
who want to help out -- and make a little money for the school's activities
(As a matter of background, the student body is about 50% Hispanic, thus the
people involved are most likely going to be predominately Catholic, by
heritage; the school is a public high school, part of the Anaheim school
district, which is said to have very good schools. Marty Johnson, the
athletic director, has said several times in his conversations with Rene Woc
that everyone is very proud of Loara. It has won state and national
recognition several times in the last few years).
Due to the requests that we are already asking of the school, the vegetarian
choices will probably have to double as the small-k Kosher choices. Diet is
always a matter of contention. There are equally as many flavors of
vegetarianism: reformed (fish and chicken are ok), ovo-lacto (eggs and milk
are ok, but fish and chicken aren't), orthodox (no animal products at all),
and ultra-orthodox [one of our friends falls into the latter category; she
won't eat off of any utensil that has ever touched meat or food that has been
cooked in a pan that has had meat cooked in it -- thus we've never been able
to invite her over for dinner (but then again, almost no one can) or go to a
restaurant with her].
Probably, in all practicality, the best we can do at the high school is
small-v vegetarian and small-k kosher. I know perfectly well that different
Jewish families maintain siginificantly different standards as to what's
acceptable and what's not. Three out of our five directly adjacent neighbors
are Jewish -- and what they will eat and not eat is all over the map. One of
our neighbors says her husband isn't really Jewish; he just doesn't like ham
:-).
However, saying all of that, let me emphatically restate my original
statement: we want everyone to be truly comfortable at the event and have the
best time possible (without offending or slighting or neglecting anyone).
Nor do we want to disappoint anyone. It is, after all, supposed to be a party
-- for all of us.
Wirt Atmar
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