LYNN — A group of parents in the Lynn Public Schools have created a petition to have better, healthier food options for students in the schools after photos of lunches with mold on them went viral.
The petition asks to change vendors, from its current Revolution Foods, so students can have proper nutrition.
“Due to COVID-19, our city has received an abundance of funds to help improve schools. Nutrition should be our priority,” the petition said.
Sophia Seang, one of the parents who created the petition, said she found a spoiled sandwich that her child was offered for lunch on Sept. 17.
Following this, she said many other parents came forward with similar issues regarding moldy and rotten food within the past six months to a year.
“Parents and guardians witnessed firsthand that there was a serious problem with the safety of this food,” Seang said. “It’s very difficult to trust the food offered once you have seen your child eat moldy cheese or drink chunky milk.”
LPS parent Melody Finnegan said she noticed the unsafe state of the food when she was picking up boxes of prepared lunches during the pandemic and would often see soggy bread, mushy beans, sour cheese and deli meats.
“My daughter was given a sandwich at school and when I asked her how it was she said ‘the cheese was sour milk cheese so I had to take it off, then I tried to eat the rest,’” Finnegan said. “Since that point, I have been unable to trust the school-lunch program and send her lunch from home.”
For those families who cannot send lunch from home, they rely on the food provided by the schools, so Finnegan said the children deserve healthy, safe food to be offered every day.
Ursula Giroux is a parent of three boys and said one of her children has been violently ill twice since school started, vomiting several times after eating a turkey club and again after eating a burrito, both provided by the school.
“The state of the food the children are being served is important because they cannot get a proper education if they are not getting proper, healthy nourishment,” Giroux said.
LPS parent Tia Cole said it is very important that the school system serves food that is safe and of good quality because these meals are sometimes the only food that the children have to eat.
“I hope going forward we’re able to find a process to report any issues with the meals, and if there is a problem, there is a clear and precise way to report it and an open and transparent investigation as to why,” Cole said.
LPS parent Sunya Ray suggested some solutions to the food issue, including schools implementing a protocol for immediate inspection once food is dropped off, documenting all spoiled food and having this information publicly available to parents, and monthly follow ups with the inspectional service.
“Healthy, nutritional and edible lunches are vital to our children’s mental and physical well-being,” Ray said. “Our children are the future. In order for them to succeed, they have to feed the brain and the body.”
Parent Rose Bingham said she hopes this petition will bring about change, including providing the schools with proper equipment to be able to store food properly, seeing less food thrown away, and more children going home well fed.
The petition also suggests LPS builds locally-sourced kitchens throughout the city to prepare a healthier, balanced menu for the children. The meals are currently prepared in a kitchen about 10 miles from Lynn, packaged, and delivered to schools to be served the next day.
These kitchens, some parents said, will provide job opportunities and could potentially provide opportunities for culinary students at local technical high schools to do their job hours, gaining work experience in high-volume turnout kitchens to prepare them for a career in culinary arts.
“We all need to be able to trust the Lynn lunch program to provide safe, healthy food,” Seang said. “We are asking for change. We need change.”
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Tutwiler addressed this issue during a School Committee meeting on Thursday night, saying that breakfast and lunchtime are important parts of the school day.
In 2017, LPS joined the Community Eligibility Provision, which allowed the district to provide universal free breakfast and lunch to all LPS students, but Tutwiler said the free meals do not, and should not, convey any reduced care or concern about the quality of the meals.
In 2020, the district entered into a partnership with Revolution Foods, which must meet a strict set of guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and include proteins, whole grains, fruit or vegetables, and milk with every meal, and must undergo a quality check to ensure freshness.
“With all expressed concerns about meal quality, we have engaged in a full investigation with Revolution Foods and Chartwells, the district’s meal-service management provider,” Tutwiler said. “This approach allows us to change a process if need be or correct a misconception. The feedback can also lead to decisions around what to serve. We will encourage families to continue to provide feedback directly to the school and food-service team.”
Tutwiler extended an invitation to LPS families to attend a food-service exposition on Nov. 3, where families will have the opportunity to sample meals served in the schools.
Representatives from Revolution Foods and Chartwells will be at this event to answer questions and hear feedback.
“In the opinion of many, the road to recovery from the pandemic will be long and winding. It will require a thoughtful strategy, consistency, and patience,” Tutwiler said. “It will also require a willingness by representatives from the school district and their partners and families to collaborate on important matters. I believe that is what is happening relative to matters involving meals.”
