Superintendent orders meals review after photos surface of 'unacceptable' school lunches

PETERSBURG – The city’s acting school superintendent says she has ordered a review of the division’s nutrition system after social-media photos this week showed somewhat paltry offerings for lunch at Petersburg High School.

In a statement released Friday on Facebook by Petersburg City Public Schools, Yolonda Brown said she has asked the division's Nutrition Department “to review and assess” meal preparation, and to report directly to students and parents through a series of family and community meetings. In addition, the state Department of Education is coming to Petersburg Tuesday to assess the menus and how cafeteria staffs prepare lunches for the students.

Last Wednesday, a PHS student’s parent posted photos of what appears to be a chicken-and-pasta bowl, half of a baked sweet potato and a juice box on a styrofoam tray.  The next day, William Lamont posted more photos of his student’s lunch options – a croissant, a quesadilla, some vegetables and an apple.

A flurry of comments accompanied both posts. Some parents said their kids told them that was standard procedure for school lunches.

“This why [sic] some babies come home starving,” one parent commented.

“The presentation of the meals shown in those photos was unacceptable,” Brown said in the statement. “I expect that the meals prepared for our students now 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.”

The posts also drew the attention of state Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg. She also shared her disappointment with what she saw.

“Parents have every right to expect their child to receive a nutritious breakfast and lunch,” Aird posted on Facebook. “It is also my understanding that the PCPS Director of Nutrition is required to meet specific nutritional mandates.”

Aird said she has spoken with school leadership, “and I understand that they are actively working towards correcting this unacceptable problem.”

In addition to the review, Brown said she has directed the nutrition department to finalize “family and community meetings” after the Labor Day holiday. Those meetings, she said, will go over required planning and preparation protocols, and also to share “our plans to make enhancements and improvements to motivate every student to participate in our meal plans.”

The dates for those meetings are expected to be announced sometime next week.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Superintendent orders meals review after photos surface of 'unacceptable' school lunches