‘This can’t be real’: Virginia parent raises concerns over school lunches

PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — Reaction has poured in from both Petersburg City Schools parents and leaders after concerns over school lunches have surfaced.

William Taylor of Petersburg, received a picture his daughter sent him earlier last week, of the lunch she and her classmates received that day.

“When I first saw the picture, I was like, ‘this can’t be real. This is… this is not real.” he said. “I was at work, so I glanced at it like…’what is this?”

Taylor, at a loss for words once he saw the picture and decided to take to his Facebook page to see if other parents in the community had heard or experienced the same issue with their children.

“You have the audacity and put that on a plate and give it to my child,” Taylor expressed, “You had the audacity to do that not just to my child but to every other student at Petersburg High School.”

The post gained great reaction with hundreds of comments — some in agreeance with Taylor and others calling on those in dismay to take other actions, such as packing their children’s lunch.

Taylor in turn giving this response to 8News, “I was trying to put the post out to show awareness of what our kids are eating and the quality of the food their eating in real time. A lot of kids aren’t fortunate enough to bring food to lunch every day. It wasn’t about my child specifically; it was about all the kids.”

Petersburg City Public Schools Acting Superintendent, Yolonda Brown, sent a letter to all parents in the district explaining she has been made aware of the concerns. Brown’s statement is listed below:

Dear PCPS Community,

I am writing to provide you with information regarding our school nutrition program and our team’s ongoing efforts to ensure that every student receives high-quality, nutritious and visually appealing meals every day. I am aware of recent concerns from students, parents, and other members of our community regarding the visible quality of some meal items served in our high school cafeteria, as highlighted by the photos on social media.

I want to be clear: The presentation of the meals shown in those photos was unacceptable. I expect that the meals prepared for students not only meet strict nutritional standards but are also visually appealing and reflect the level of skill and care our school nutrition staff puts into their preparation.

During my first 37 days as acting superintendent, I have started working collaboratively with the PCPS School Nutrition Department to review and assess our nutrition program. As a part of this review, I have requested a technical assistance visit and review of our food offerings, preparation and presentation by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). As a result, VDOE has scheduled a technical assistance visit on Tuesday, September 3, 2024. In the interim, we have assessed our menu offerings and made some adjustments accordingly.

Lastly, to establish communication and gain your valuable feedback, the PCPS School Nutrition Department is finalizing family and community meetings to discuss our school nutrition program and our plans to make enhancements and improvements to motivate every student to participate in our meal programs. The dates for these meetings will be shared immediately following the labor day holiday.

If you have additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Dr. Matthew Woods,

Assistant Superintendent of Student Services at (804) 732-0510 or via email at mawoods@petersburg.k12.va.us or Ms. Sandra Stokes, School Nutrition Supervisor at (804) 861- 4806 Ext. 3 or via email at sastokes@petersburg.k12.va.us.

Thank you for your on-going support of PCPS.

Warmest Regards,

Yolonda C. Brown

Acting Superintendent

Yolonda C. Brown, Acting Superintendent, Petersburg City Public Schools

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