NYC budget director blames cafeteria menu cuts on too many kids eating
New York City slashed popular items like chicken tenders, dumplings, and cookies from cafeteria menus in February because too many kids were eating, a city official said Monday.
Jacques Jiha, director of the Office of Management and Budget, offered the surprising explanation at a City Council budget hearing in response to questions from Education Committee chair Rita Joseph pressing officials about why “high demand items are being swapped for heat-and-serve options.”
“Bear in mind, the city made some significant investments in school cafeterias,” Jiha said, referring to a $50 million initiative to upgrade middle and high school cafeterias to make them resemble food courts – a project explicitly designed to increase student meal participation.
“So what you end up with, you have a lot of kids hanging out in cafeterias now and eating more and more and more and more,” Jiha continued. “So therefore what they did was, they basically cut some of the items from the menu … because more kids are eating.”
A school food staffer told Chalkbeat in January that the items removed from the February menu were among the pricier offerings.
The menu cuts have already had significant effects – both on kids who were crushed to lose their favorite lunch foods and on manufacturers struggling with the loss of business.
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