Philly students tackle cafeteria food
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia School District by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Kristen Graham.
Philly students tackle cafeteria food
Kristen Graham
I now interrupt this bad budget news for another story of how kids do great things in Philadelphia schools every day.
School cafeteria food is a perpetual joke — unappetizing, unidentifiable mystery meat; meals heavy on carbs and light on fresh ingredients.
Three seniors at Girard Academic Music Program, a Philadelphia School District magnet school in South Philadelphia, want to fix that.
Jasmine Oliver is part of a group exploring how they can get more fresh fruits and vegetables in city schools. It’s part of a service project for her social science class.
Oliver, Brittany Jefferson and Alberta Douglas have interviewed dietitians, learned about legislation make school lunches healthier, and talked to their classmates.
“Typically, I don’t really eat the spaghetti or anything with meat or marinara, because it doesn’t taste good,” said one student interviewed on camera for the girls’ project. She was eating macaroni and cheese because “it’s not repulsive.”
“It looked pretty well-cooked,” the student said. “A lot of the things they make they don’t cook through — the meat and things like that.”
Oliver lives in East Falls and has a long ride to school; she doesn’t have time to pack a lunch. To avoid the entrees served in the cafeteria, she’ll either skip lunch or eat an apple, if one is available.
On Wednesday, she said the cafeteria offering was lasagna, which didn’t look appetizing, or a hot dog and french fries. Canned pears were also offered.
“It’s loads and loads of starch — starch and sodium,” said Oliver, 18.
It’s not an easy fix for a 151,000-student district that serves up 80,000 free lunchs and 65,000 free breakfasts every day.
Federal funding for school lunches does not cover the actual cost of buying and preparing meals, even ones that students clearly do not enjoy. And the district has already closed full-service kitchens at 26 elementary and middle schools to save money this year.
Most schools serve “satellite” meals, which are cooked, plated and frozen several days before consumption and then trucked in from a warehouse. Some are served hot; others are not.
A farm-to-school pilot project does bring fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables into some city schools, but GAMP is not one of them. Thirty-three schools across Philadelphia participate in the program.
Jefferson said she and her partners will explore the farm-to-school program and see what other avenues might be open to them.
There have been small victories so far — fresh apple slices, but they want more, even in a district beset with serious budgetary woes.
“Adults take it as a joke — 'Kids trying to fix their lunch programs? Yeah, right. We don’t even have the money to fix textbooks,'” said Oliver. “But we’ve got to. School should be the foundation of how you learn to eat healthy.”
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cut the breakfasts and lunches there is no money for it .— marko1- CHARGE THEM ALL!! Get rid of the federal funding, let the kids buy and eat thet the hell they want. They do anyway-check out the how many kids are at the local corner store during lunch. Rid the entire program nothing but a waste of more tax dollars!!!— kmackley
- CHARGE THEM ALL!! Get rid of the federal funding, let the kids buy and eat thet the hell they want. They do anyway-check out the how many kids are at the local corner store during lunch. Rid the entire program nothing but a waste of more tax dollars!!!— kmackley
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@areyoukiddin, ever hear of the quote, "Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt?" Many schools in Philadelphia post "no outside food or drink" signs at their enterances and, upon speaking with the principle, enforce this rule EVEN if it is lunch. I fully believe that parents should be involved in their kids lives at school but also think that it is a students RIGHT to have lunch. Additionally, sleeping aside, kids spend half of their day in school, which generally includes two meals. How are parents supposed to teach their kids healthy eating habits if the kid is surrounded by unhealthy ones for 2/3rds of their meals?
I think this is great that students are finally speaking out about this. The obesity epidemic STARTS with students and schools seem to want to stand with the Let's Move campaign but still force feed students packaged lunches that are packed with additives, steroids and corn filler because its cheap. There are students in Philadelphia that don't know what fresh vegetables look like and I've heard horror stories from students about irradescent meat. Parents can talk all they want about healthy eating habits but unless that is demonstrated at school, as well as at home, its not going to resonate. Kudos to Oliver, Jefferson and Douglas.— lcascia1 - THANK YOU — Alberta Douglas
- You know, it's a shame that the people that have made the outrageous comments posted above haven't realized how important this issue is. "CHARGE THEM ALL!! Get rid of the federal funding, let the kids buy and eat thet the hell they want. They do anyway-check out the how many kids are at the local corner store during lunch. Rid the entire program nothing but a waste of more tax dollars!!!".....? really? Students are trying to do something positive and you shut them down with an ignorant comment like that? If the kids were getting a decent lunch at school, they wouldn't have to go to the local corner store. They don't think that with all the tax money that is being used, a decent lunch and breakfast shouldn't be provided for the students? shame. We, as students, have the right to be upset about the unhealthy food that is given to us. Thank you lcascia, for seeing the good that can come out of changing this issue.
— Alberta Douglas - *principal.— lcascia1
- Start at the SDP!! In June of 2011 the District took 26 full service kitchens and tunred them into pre-plate!! Where were the parents and the students?? Do the research. The District robbed you guys of any chance of getting a better meal.— kmackley
- I think that all the negative comments posted above are completely irrelevant. If you're not educated enough on the subject matter to make a valid point, don't pretend like you are. First of all, parents shouldn't have to prepare lunches for their children. That's what the SCHOOL kitchens are for. I know for a FACT that GAMP has a BRAND NEW state of the art kitchen. So why then should there be any excuse to have tasteless overcooked/under-cooked food? There shouldn't. This is the product of carelessness. The only thing this disgrace that the cafeteria staff calls food should be fed to, is the garbage disposal. At a time like this when America is trying to fight the obesity epidemic, i find it in no way appropriate to be serving foods with over amounts of carbohydrates to the youth of this country. And the vegetables that are supposed to have nutritional value, lose that value when they are cooked improperly. That said, if the cafeteria staff want to continue this carelessness, they should be removed. There are PLENTY of people today who would kill for a job. And yes school is a foundation of learning. But there's more to education than academic subjects. High School kids are at the time in their lives where they are open to and learn from the environment around them. And being that they spend more time in school than at home, the school should exemplify healthy eating habits since it is something that will affect them in the future. The end.— jimmystef
During the school year, you’ll frequently find her hosting live chats about the district on Philly.com. Please do pass along the scoop about what’s going on at your Philadelphia public school; Kristen welcomes tips, story ideas and witty banter at kgraham@phillynews.com or 215-854-5146.
You can also follow Kristen on Twitter here.
