The DeKalb County School District will retrain school nutrition workers after parents complained publicly that meals received from the district while classrooms remain closed have included bad food, a district spokeswoman said Tuesday.
The district has been delivering meals to students since buildings were forced to close in March to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Through several iterations, the district landed on a thrice-weekly distribution schedule, with two days of breakfast and lunch delivered by bus or handed out at at school buildings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Parents have taken to social media over the last five months with complaints about the quality of the meals. Several parents shared pictures of molded fruit and bread with reporters from CBS46.
District officials said the department of school nutrition has systems in place that should “ensure quality food.” Those include making sure received deliveries meet standards for quality and temperature control and that food items are stored before being placed in delivery bags, and reinspected for quality
“Retraining will be provided to school nutrition services employees on product receipt, storage and service,” a district spokeswoman said in a statement. “Perishable items will be bagged on the day of meal distribution.”
On Wednesday afternoon, DeKalb County School Nutrition Services apologized for the poor quality of some of the food.
“We would like to thank the parent that reached out to express concerns regarding our meals,” said Connie R. Walker, executive director, school nutrition services. “Please accept our sincerest apology. Your feedback is highly appreciated and contributes to the success of our program.
According to a recent announcement, the district is partnering with the Atlanta Community Food Bank to distribute food to families beginning Thursday, with weekly distributions planned.
Food is expected to be distributed from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Clarkston High School, Chapel Hill Middle School, McNair Middle School and Sequoyah Middle School every Thursday during the school year.
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