It’s an important task for many reasons. Research consistently supports the connection between a stomach that’s full and a mind that’s ready to learn. While plenty of students eat breakfast at home, and others bring a packed lunch to school, many students and families depend on the breakfast and lunch they receive at school. The percentage of Wicomico students who qualify for Free and Reduced Meals (FARM) is nearly 60%, and in some schools the FARM percentage is 85% or even higher. Many families appreciate the convenience of students being able to purchase meals at school when they like what’s on the menu, or when the family is too rushed or too short on supplies to pack.
Another frequent diner in school cafeterias is Dr. John Fredericksen, Superintendent of Schools. Almost every week he visits schools to have lunch with students, purchasing the same menu items as students. In addition to ensuring that he gets to eat during a busy work day, lunchtime at school is a great chance for him to hear what’s important to students, and to see cafeteria workers and other school staff in action.
“My favorite thing is to hear them tell me about their biggest challenges, be it subtraction or AP Calculus, and how we’re helping them meet these challenges. “Itreasure the times when I can step out of the office and hear directly from our students, and I enjoy joining them for school lunch. My menu choices are chicken sandwiches and lasagna, with chocolate milk.”
For each and every school cafeteria customer, in every school cafeteria around the county, food service staff strive to provide healthful and appealing meals, in accordance with the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act and other federal guidelines, with careful control of food costs.
The past two winters have been challenging for food service, which must adjust menus to adapt to snow days. They must change menu offerings to ensure ingredients and supplies are used before their “best by” date. Additionally, they rotate and delete stock according to established procedures to ensure that kitchens are serving the best possible food. School cafeterias do an excellent job throughout the year checking dates and rotating stock with all food including milk, fruits, vegetables, condiments, snack items, and more.
Recently some community concerns surfaced regarding adherence to “best by” and “sell by” dates. In response to these concerns, Director of Food Service Eric Goslee reminded food service kitchen managers of the proper procedures to follow, including:
Double-check dates on foods served to students. Remove any outdated foods that are found. Please do not sell anything beyond its “best by” and/or “sell by” dates. Any items beyond that date, please inventory and report to the food service director.
For items such as packaged produce (baby carrots, apple slices): As these items get closer to the date, move your fresh fruit and/or vegetables around to serve before the date. Take items out of package, rinse and repackage (boats, bags, etc.) for service.
Do not combine like items with different dates to reduce storage space. Not combining items with different dates makes it easier to ensure that one box or lot contains items that all have the same “best by” or “sell by” date.
If a concern or question is raised about any aspect of food service, including “best by” and “sell by” dates, a discovery process is done to collect written statements from various people involved, to ask questions related to the concern, and to determine whether established procedures were followed. Once the discovery process is complete, the school system addresses the concern in an appropriate manner, said Dr. Cathy Townsend, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services. Wicomico has proper procedures in place for serving more than 9,000 meals a day in school cafeterias, and will continue to make every effort to ensure that procedures are carefully and conscientiously followed.
21 comments:
There are 11 counties within 75 miles of us.Is Wicomico the only county that has problems?
Now make sure every dept head signs a copy of this!!!!
Amazing. They're caught red-handed slinging expired food to our kids, and then they start slinging a load of bull---t about how careful they are.
The pathology of the left is growing exponentially. The ease with which they spew these lies and distortions is breathtaking.
Is there no morality left at all?
When I attended schools in Wicomico County from 1968 to 1980 I remember nothing but unpleasant experiences with the cafeteria food. To this day, I cannot stand the foul smell of a school cafeteria. Even back then, I bagged my lunch. Nothing against the workers. I think it has always been the federal guidelines for serving food. The Veggies were always canned and were a medley of peas and carrots. Unflavored meat and gravy because they never used salt or spices. Only the teachers were allowed to use a salt and pepper shaker. Because of this, a lot of food ended up in the trash cans. I am allergic to milk and was forced to purchase it, so it also ended up in the trash can. Because of this, I either bagged my lunch or starved. When my kids started attending school, I noticed nothing had changed. My kids also didn't care for the food, so we also bagged their lunch and I continue to do so to this day.
0855, the other 11 counties have their issues too. We are just not privy to them as we are our own and vice versa.
Looks like a CYA at this point. I cant see Frederickson eating this crap they are trying to feed our kids. Further more I think we should designate 1 day called bring your lunch to school day and show them what would happen if parents packed lunches and let the cafeteria eat the expired food themselves.
Back when I went to school, it was not the schools responsibility to feed the kids, it was the parents so in thirty years now it is the schools responsibility and look what they are feeding the kids, maybe just maybe we can get to a place where if you have kids you feed them breakfast and lunch and dinner because it is your responsibility and maybe we would not even have to talk about this
9:50, Of course this is a CYA release. Now think about this for a minute. Do ANY of you think someone would put a tray of food together for Fredericksen with an expired package on it?
Fredericksen continues to put out press releases or announcements that counter whatever Salisbury News delivers. We provide DOCUMENTED information and EVIDENCE and Liberals always find ways to twist it.
Look, no matter what, I highly doubt ANY expired food will be served any longer. I'm confident they'll also stop washing off old apples and carrots too.
One can only HOPE the Health Department starts doing more surprise inspections as the BOE serves far more human beings every single day then ANY restaurant on the Shore.
How many kids end up in the nurses office AFTER lunch????? I wonder if they EVER connected the dots?
They have real food in real school districts. I'm surprised y'all don't serve muskrat and chitterlings on a regular basis. Google best school cafeterias or lunch menus.
It's not their fault - it's due to snow days caused by man-made global warming
Those that rely on the school to give their kids breakfast and lunch for free are more than likely also receiving food stamps. Why aren't they buying breakfast and lunch foods for the kids we are supporting through food stamps and stop making it the schools responsibility to feed their children. Imagine the money saved at the BOE for more parties. I don't deny a child a meal, I do deny their worthless parents that are either to lazy or to busy to feed their offspring. If you're to lazy to feed them then Social Services should take them and put them in a home where someone isn't to lazy to feed their kids. If you're to busy with your self important life maybe your kids should be taken and put in a home where the adults aren't to busy to feed them. There is no excuse for not feeding your own children at home. You had them. YOU feed them.
If the parent gets food stamps to provide food for school-age children, then no free lunch/breakfast. If the children get free lunch/breakfast, then deduct the cost of those meals from the food stamps given to the family. Why must taxpayers may for breakfast/lunch twice for food stamp recipients?
9:19 said, "When I attended schools in Wicomico County from 1968 to 1980 I remember nothing but unpleasant experiences with the cafeteria food."
When I went to elementary and high school getting to buy lunch was a treat. Later in college I was very happy to go to the student dinning center and eat my three meals per day. I always wondered about those students who would find fault and refuse to eat. Never understood it then; Don't understand it now.
The recent releases by the board of education only prove they are at fault. Never before have we seen these types of releases. Why now?
We pay these people to do there best up front to handle our school system. I don't like paying for spin doctors to adjust our opinion. Just how will this end? I suggest for them to admit faults, provide corrective action and move forward. Unfortunately admission of any wrongdoing will not occur.
Go right ahead and try to organize that. You couldn't get every child to brush their damn teeth in the morning let alone pack their lunch.
12:25
Colleges have private contractors for the meals. My son goes to UMES and I have taken classes at Wor Wic. The food is restaurant quality and much better than anything I had when I went to public school. Maybe if the public schools did the same, the meals would be better? I am the one who commented on 9:19.
When you have a true choice and there is a financial stake in the food, the quality is always going to be better because you are giving them what the people want.
The only waste I saw was empty plates and bottles in the trash and not wasted food.
The School Board Trolls are reacting to Joes articles.
Most of you really missed out on the food in school cafeterias in the 1950s and 1960s. It was better than my mom's cooking. It cost 25 cents. Milk was 3 cents. The macaroni and cheese made with government cheese was the best.
To fend off any potential lawsuits, that's why they're covering their butts.
Why don't you naysayers, who like to post anonymously take the time to at least come into the school cafeteria you are sitting here complaining about. So what if you think this a a CYA moment. How could Dr. F have forseen all this and made it a point to eat in the cafeterias before this happened. The point is is that he DOES it! And just so you know, he doesn't call in advance. He shows up at a school, signs in and goes to the cafe. He DOES NOT request a special platter or food. He stands in line with the students, and gets a tray just like everybody else. And yes, I work for a school in the county. Am I a teacher or a food service worker. NO, I am not. I am an underpaid para who doesn't always agree with the BOE but quite frankly am tired of all the parents and even Joe complaining without doing anything about it. It seems everyone wants to complain but do nothing about it. The mob mentality on this site is disgusting. Go figure stuff out for yourselves. Go eat in the cafeterias. Hell, don't even eat. Just sign in to a school and walk in and pretend to care.
2:23 formally 9:19 Colleges have private contractors for the meals. My son goes to UMES and I have taken classes at Wor Wic.
This is 12:25. Colleges do not always have private contractors. Private contractors at UMES is a recent development supposedly to save money. There continues to be no private contractor at SU but in my opinion they have outstanding choice today. There was no private contractor when I went to college and no choice either except sometimes between two main items.Yuo always knew one morning of the week was going to be cheese bread and bacon. I liked it and my name is not Mikey. Absolutely no choice in public school. Like I said I never understood complaints then and I don't understand them today.
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