School board member Cheryl Burke, left, and Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras, right, listen to a speaker during a school committee meeting at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Monday, October 4, 2021.
JAMES H. WALLACE / TIMES-DISPATCH
After parents complained that school lunch was often unidentifiable and almost inedible, the Richmond Public School plans to “reevaluate the entire school feeding program.” The move is part of a corrective action plan that the district was required to submit to the state Department of Education because the contract for the meal did not meet federal regulations.
Part of that reassessment should consider taking lessons from a pilot program with Brigaid, a company the district worked with in 2019 to bring more fresh food to the district, according to the Richmond School Health Advisory Board. The Advisory Board also wants RPS to consider hiring criminals on a case-by-case basis to fill positions, along with exit interviews for employees who have recently left RPS’s food sector.
The health council’s recommendations come after the district criticized parents and the Virginia Department of Education about a $ 12.9 million deal with Preferred Meals, a grocer the district has worked with at least since 2012. The complaints soon started in September after the first day of school where parents were angry about junk meals from Preferred Meals for citing a low calorie count that wouldn’t fill their children’s stomachs and possibly against the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s calorie counting rules have violated.
Mariah White, the second member of the district’s school committee, said she would like more competition for a new tender for the food contract as Preferred Meals, with whom the district has worked since 2012, is the only eligible contender for the contract. White has been at the forefront of the food battle, accusing Superintendent Jason Kamras of trying to cover up systemic food issues in school buildings.
