Erin Tatge
Hi, I’m writing about school lunches and breakfasts.
Let me start by saying that I think everyone at our schools is doing their best to make sure students have what they need and I appreciate all of the effort they have been putting in. This letter is not a criticism of the staff members who are working so hard to feed our students. I’m writing to make the school board, LAPS administration, and Chartwells aware of some of the larger issues that have been happening, as in talking to people I’ve heard a variety of problems that I wanted to make sure were known.
Here is a list of issues that I’ve been able to personally verify with people involved*.
Problems with food availability or quality:
Students at 2 different schools were offered a Wednesday grab and go lunch with no entree because they ran out.
On a different week than the one above, an elementary student was told there were no more grab and go lunches, but then one was found.
Students arriving at Piñon on the bus are often offered incomplete breakfasts as they have often run out of the grain portion by the time busses arrive.
Breakfast burritos were served with no tortillas, only filling.
Cold lunch has been unavailable multiple times at LAHS.
A student has been served moldy fruit at one meal and and undercooked chicken at another. (This was not reported to any staff because the student didn’t think there was any point)
Students have waited in line so long that lunch was over by the time they got to their table.
A staff member said the breakfast fruit is usually under- or over-ripe. One day it was described as “inedible.”
Inconsistent information:
We have been told repeatedly to check the Nutrislice menu and see if it’s something our students want to eat or if it meets their dietary requirements and preferences, but -
The menu on Nutrislice often doesn’t match what is served, e.g.: serving ham instead of turkey, beef pasta instead of turkey hot dogs, burgers instead of pasta, and several breakfast substitutions. At least once the menu on nutrislice was updated some time after 7:30pm the night before.
The breakfast for August 23rd had conflicting information about its major allergens (there were warnings for tree nuts and peanuts) on Nutrislice vs when the actual item was looked at by school staff, it was labeled as coming from a facility with those ingredients present.
Ms Guy’s email on 8/9/23 clarifies that meals can only be modified for allergies, but the LAPS food services website still says otherwise.
The food services website also says, “In addition to our one hot lunch option, the district will offer a sack lunch option as well,” but that is only available at the high school.
The menu for this cold lunch at LAHS is not available in advance other than Wednesdays.
The school board has asked for patience and grace, as this is a new program. While the National School Lunch Program is new for LAPS, it’s not new for Chartwells. In the the school board meeting on August 11, minutes 19:30-20:35, Mr. Tapia, the regional vp of Chartwells, said, “82 of the 84 districts I support are on the National School Lunch Program, so I know this well - the team that I work with knows this program very well. And it is a change. There are a lot more regulations and restrictions any time the USDA gets involved…And although there is regulations and certain requirements, that’s all done on our end.” They are a large company, working with 665 k-12 districts. Managing a website/app with menus and ordering enough food should be second nature.
My questions for LAPS, Chartwells, and the school board are:
Will the contract between LAPS and Chartwells be made public?
What changes will be made to ensure that all students who want one have a full meal and time to eat it?
Is LAPS being billed by Chartwells for meals that don’t include entrees or are otherwise not reimbursable according to USDA guidelines?
Are there contractual consequences to Chartwells for not providing a full reimbursable meal?
Understanding that sometimes items are unavailable, what changes will be made to keep Nutrislice accurate? Are there contractual consequences to major meal changes being made without warning?
What will be done to feed students who have come to school expecting to eat the provided breakfast and/or lunch that was listed on Nutrislice, only to find out the meal is something different?
What will be done to feed the students who have come to school expecting to eat the meals provided, only to find out that there are no meals left?
Regarding the bill that has made free breakfast and lunch available in NM, PED Secretary Romero said, “These meals are as critical to student success as textbooks, desks, and pencils. I celebrate this bill... This is the best of us.” This is not the best of LAPS. What will be done to improve?
Thank you,
Erin Tatge Aspen parent
*The issues listed above were reported by Erin Tatge, Kate Hovey, Amanda Deringer, Kellee Beddeson, Lis Lueninghoener, Beth Brown, and 9 anonymous parents or staff members.