Expired milk, frozen sandwiches and undercooked burgers for school lunches anger parents [View all]

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Parents in Woodbridge, N.J., say their children are being served frozen sandwiches, uncooked hamburgers and expired milk for lunch in school. Dozens of parents say Chartwells School Dining Services— the school district’s food service provider — has provided lunches the first week-plus of the school years that are sometimes moldy, soggy, frozen or flat-out inadequate.

“The first day of school my older son got home and said ‘mom I’m starving, I didn’t eat,’” Kristi Salzano, who has one son in Woodbridge Middle School and one in Ross Street School, said. “I said, ‘what happened?’ He said my turkey sandwich was frozen. And then I go on (Facebook) and come to find the barrage of moms complaining that there were days when their kids didn’t get food or the food they got was inedible.” One day this week, the meal offering at an elementary school in the township was goldfish crackers and a muffin, she said.

Chartwell has come under fire in the past. In 2014, students at a Connecticut high school boycotted Chartwells’ food after photos showed
lunches that contained mold, human hair, undercooked meats, insects and or tiny portion sizes.

Chartwells sent the district a letter which was shared with parents. “We recognize that over the past few days there were a few instances where we didn’t meet the expectations of all of our students and families. We want you to know that we’ve had a chance to work with the administration to make additional adjustments to our meal service and menus, which will be in place before the end of next week.”

Woodbridge Superintendent Dr. Joseph Massimino, meanwhile, said the district is in contact with Chartwells and expects better for its more than 13,700 students in 25 schools across the sprawling township.

https://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2021/09/expired-milk-frozen-sandwiches-undercooked-burgers-anger-parents-in-this-school-district.html