On Wednesday, New York City school children testified before the City Council about unpopular food options that are causing some students to throw their lunch in the trash.
The council raised concerns about meals served to students after images of less than appetizing food circulated on social media.
“I was served stale waffles for breakfast and barely cooked chicken nuggets and fries,” one student testified.
“During the pandemic, students have been served ham and cheese sandwiches and peanut butter sandwiches, which as a student who has eaten them before know they are not able to keep me energized throughout the school day.”
Other students testified that certain food choices did not meet their religious or dietary restrictions – and these were only the meals the children actually prepared.
“At the end of the day, we want all of our children to have access to healthy, fresh, nutritious food that’s appealing and tastes good so they actually eat it and don’t throw it in the trash,” said Rita Joseph. , Chair of the Education Committee.
Cafeteria staffing levels are just rebounding to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, DOE officials said.
Christopher Tricarico, senior executive director of the Office of Food and Nutrition Services, said there was room for improvement.
“My team, the department needs to do a little better job on the menu next year in September, and you’ll see that clearly marked on the menu so there’s no confusion around the options,” a- he declared.
A council member asked Tricarico what officials could do to ensure that children actually eat what is served to them. Tricario suggested managers could try putting on the food themselves.
“As principal, I would go down to the canteen and eat with my students,” he said. “I think when we start to focus more on that, and we have the school administration, the parents and the students together and have the same conversation, we increase participation at all levels.”
The hearing followed images and reports of menu options, including an anonymous student Instagram account that focused on food at a school in Queens.
The account, @bsgelunch, documented the food served at the Baccalaureate School for Global Education, with a recent post showing “mushy” chicken fillets and a small portion of fries.
“School lunch sucked this year and I can only dream it will be better next year,” the post said. “DOE if you’re reading this, please bring back some garlic bread.”
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