The State College High School cafeteria was operating for a crowd of nearly 400 diners yesterday afternoon, but the typical fare of pizza, tater tots and chicken patties wasn't on the menu.
Instead, high school students, faculty and members of the local community were sitting down to a meal of ethnic foods such as boondi raita, an Indian dish made up of yogurt with small flour dumplings.
Behind the counter, a man wearing a fez was slicing thin strips of lamb for doner kebab, a traditional Turkish entrée. Everything on the buffet was free, and donations were collected to benefit pro-diversity organizations.
The occasion was the Taste of the World food-tasting lunch, an event held in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision. The event took place after a performance by the Penn State choral group Essence of Joy and before an afternoon of diversity workshops for the faculty.
"This particular activity is a chance to bring people together around food," said John Sheridan, the high school's director of learning enrichment, gifted support and student services. "Sharing food is one of the basic human interactions."
Global Connections, a nonprofit, pro-diversity organization, collaborated with the school district to represent more than 10 cultures at the meal.
"If you're going to come together, it should always be over food," Merrill David, executive director of Global Connections, said.
Volunteers prepared and served dishes from their ethnic backgrounds, including Indian, Taiwanese, Native American, Mexican, African, Saudi Arabian, Korean, Sri Lankan and Turkish food.
"It's really nice that all these people volunteer their time to educate others about their culture," Kristen Podwika, a junior at the high school, said.
Podwika is a member of People's Forum, the high school's diversity club. She and other members of the group also provided foods reflecting their own cultural backgrounds and interests.
They filled two tables with dishes ranging from Italian spaghetti to Brazilian beans and rice.
In addition to taking a step toward cultural understanding and togetherness, the multicultural lunch was a fun way to spend the day off from school without forgetting what the holiday is all about.
"It's important to see other cultures and other points of view," Anne Berkey, a high school senior and member of People's Forum, said.
Dianne McMurtry, teacher and adviser to People's Forum, agreed.
"I think it's a great way to bring people from all different backgrounds together," she said. "We should celebrate our differences, but also realize that there's a lot we have in common."
