Students left hungry for more options after New York City slashes school food budget
NEW YORK -- Outside of the United States military, the New York City school system runs the largest daily food program in the country, so why are students in the city now noticing that their go-to options in the cafeteria are gone?
"Give us our lunches back. There's kids who don't even eat anymore," said Alec Lopez, a 12th grader at Bronx Academy of Letters.
Hope you like cheese -- because at Bronx Academy of Letters on Friday, your options are mozzarella sticks, cheese pizza and something that was at least labeled as grilled cheese sandwiches.
"It's on a burger bun. That's not a grilled cheese. That's, like, a struggle meal," Alec said.
"It was simultaneously both still frozen yet scalding hot," said Dana Pecharo, director of restorative practices at Bronx Letters.
Some of the now-missing items are favorites like cookies, burritos, roasted chicken, chicken dumplings and tenders, French fries, and salads.
"This week, I haven't even picked up a lunch," Alec said. "There are signs around the school like, 'Try our recipes,' 'Eat in school,' 'It's free.' What are we eating?"
"These cafeterias that are designed to be like food courts ... But part of what makes that model work is having options," said Michael Elsen Rooney, with Chalkbeat New York.
In November, the Adams administration slashed the school food budget by $60 million, part of larger cuts that the mayor said were prompted by the migrant crisis.
"The city has said that the $60 million cut in city spending on school foods is being replaced by increased federal money," Elsen Rooney said.
"To say that, oh, because of the immigrants, we can't feed the kids chicken tenders, which seems to be not true. So it's infuriating. It seems like a political stunt on the backs of our children," said David Garcia-Rosen, Bronx Letters school culture director.
"I've had like maybe five students be like, 'Do you think that the cops are gonna get a new robot dog now?' Because they're putting together the pieces that maybe they're gonna cut school money," Pecharo said.
There's a potential ripple effect to be wary of here. If fewer kids eat lunch because of this, that could lead to less federal money coming in -- meaning more cuts. And it's not just the students. The manufacturer of the chicken dumplings, for example, says they may have to lay off employees after this loss in revenue.
We reached out to the Department of Education and City Hall for comment but did not hear back.
Click here for more on this story from Chalkbeat New York, and head to Chalkbeat New York to find more of our combined reporting.
