There was a recent war of words between weatherman Al Roker and newly elected Mayor Bill de Blasio. The reason for the rift was that the mayor did not close the schools due to the ice storm in the northeast. Al Roker took to twitter and proceeded to make comments like “Why are schools all around NYC not closed? It’s going to take some kid or kids getting hurt before this goofball policy gets changed,” Roker wrote on Twitter.
The Mayor sent a shot across the bow when his Chancellor, Carmen Farina, said one factor in the decision was that schools are on break next week and another day off would set students back even further. Plus, she said, many students depend on the schools for their only hot meal of the day.
I nearly fell out of my chair. I said to myself that he understands school foodservice and the needs of the kids we try to feed every day. While I do think fighting over twitter is not the best way to communicate as adults, it did expose some dialogue surrounding school lunch.
I do understand where Mr. Roker was coming from because as a parent of two school aged kids it would be challenging to rework the day to go get my kids and make sure they are safe at home. Would it have been easier to just keep the kids at home? Maybe, but it all depends on the lens that you are viewing the situation out of. It is hard to have a one size fits all answer.
What happens when a natural disaster happens or just inclement weather occurs? What are the students doing that do or do not have access to meals?
What plans do you have in place? Let’s hope the winter weather ends soon so you all can get back to feeding our future.
Kern Halls, School Foodservice Consultant and Chief Innovator of Ingenious Culinary Concepts, turns empty dining halls into gold mines of student activity! By seeking out and combining just the right “ingredients” to accomplish what many call impossible: Halls gets students to “want” to dine in your cafeterias!