No goulash? Some parents lukewarm to N.S. school lunch program

Since the motorboat of Nova Scotia's schoolhouse luncheon programme past September, the Education Department has received hundreds of submissions from parents raising concerns astir things specified as food prime and safety, what ingredients are utilized successful the dishes and whether the repast options cater to circumstantial diets.

The forms are contained successful a 212-page papers CBC News obtained done a state of accusation petition that has anyplace from 1 to 3 entries per page. Parents submitted the forms done the luncheon program's website.

The pay-what-you-can programme has served much than 2 million meals since September. Families tin wage the afloat $6.50 outgo of the lunch, portion of that terms oregon thing astatine all.

"My kid is trying caller foods astatine his schoolhouse with his friends and is loving it!" wrote 1 parent. "The pictures being displayed connected your ordering strategy assistance him prime retired what helium is consenting to effort each week. We admit this being offered to each students and it makes nutritional choices amusive for all, careless of income."

That connection was an outlier, though, with astir focusing connected frustrations and ways that parents deliberation the programme can be improved.

"The nutrient is often cold, with portions that are either excessively tiny oregon unappetizingly thrown together," wrote 1 parent. "Some days, the meals person included limp vegetables, hardly recognizable entrees, and overripe effect that's astir inedible.

"It's frustrating to spot that alternatively of enhancing their time and supporting their health, this programme has fallen abbreviated successful delivering adjacent the basics of a decent meal."

Amanda Northcott, who leads the schoolhouse luncheon programme for the Education Department, said they get a batch of affirmative feedback from parents. She said the fig of submissions done the online portal has fallen 68 per cent since the program's launch.

"We are truly looking astatine that feedback with an oculus for continuous betterment successful the programme and what we tin bash to benignant of marque the paper acceptable for students, keep the paper nutritious and truly benignant of effort to conscionable arsenic galore children's needs and preferences arsenic we can," Northcott said.

She said the information they've received lone a fewer 100 submissions comparative to the fig of meals served shows the programme is good received.

In the documents provided to CBC, details specified arsenic the names of the radical who wrote the messages, their email addresses and the schoolhouse their kid attends were redacted, truthful it's intolerable to archer whether anybody wrote aggregate emails.

Food prime concerns

One genitor wrote that children are coming location each time with complaints astir mouldy effect and nutrient that was overcooked and smelled like cigarettes.

For 1 parent, macaroni and food offered connected the archetypal time of the programme astatine their child's schoolhouse had them acrophobic astir what the prime of aboriginal meals would beryllium like.

"I'm not trying to beryllium mean but boxed Kraft Mac and Cheese honestly looks gourmet by comparison," the genitor wrote.

One genitor said their kid would devour anything, but the nutrient prime near their kid upset.

"Anyone who promises a kid food pizza and serves them an untoasted English muffin with mushrooms should person a agelong hard look successful the mirror," the genitor wrote.

Chicken taco conundrum

Food information issues are different fashionable topic, with 1 day's offering of chickenhearted tacos prompting immoderate parents to constitute in. They said the tacos were delivered successful the greeting and the nutrient sat successful a hallway unrefrigerated for astir 4 hours.

"I anticipation we don't spot a clump of kids with nutrient poisoning," wrote a parent. "This is conscionable ridiculous risky nutrient handling."

One genitor complained astir a vegetarian pasta crockery that was frozen successful the middle. It besides didn't person capable sauce, they said.

One genitor said they planned to cancel immoderate upcoming orders due to the fact that the nutrient appeared earthy 1 day.

Northcott said the facilities wherever the nutrient is prepared are permitted and taxable to regular inspections.

Ingredients are a large interest for parents, especially relating to the fare their children follow.

"We bash cognize that galore children's diets person expanded and that children person vulnerability to antithetic types of foods, truthful we tried to equilibrium that connected our existent paper to connection a assortment of meals," said Northcott.

Many parents asked whether determination would beryllium gluten-free oregon celiac options, arsenic good arsenic if the nutrient was halal.

Northcott said they are looking astatine reducing imaginable allergens successful the paper and providing gluten-friendly options.

'We don't request food successful each meal,' says parent

One genitor complained of excessively overmuch dairy successful the repast options.

"This is ridiculous," the genitor wrote. "We don't request food successful each meal."

Another wanted circumstantial details astir the dairy options.

"I would similar to find retired if the vegetarian meals see dairy escaped milk, food and sour pick products oregon existent dairy products ...Also, amended constituent lists for vegetarian options database what existent beverage products are (dairy, oat, soy, almond based)," they wrote.

One genitor wrote that their lad followed a strict lacto-vegetarian diet, meaning they bash not devour nutrient oregon eggs. They wondered if the food was of carnal oregon plant-based origin, and asked for a representation of the cheese's statement truthful they could find that for themselves.

Another genitor wrote astir ordering no-meat options for her 2 sons, complaining the achromatic legume wrapper was "littered with bosom milk," pointing to the food and sour pick it included.

"I'm truthful confused, the Canada nutrient usher is wide connected the harm eating carnal proteins causes," they wrote.

Why isn't goulash being offered?

One genitor praised the menu but said it wasn't kid-friendly.

"Some of their favourites similar nuggets, ail pizza, goulash person not been included and they miss them," the genitor wrote. "While arsenic an adult, I hold chickpeas, tofu and different sources of macromolecule are great, I fishy the bulk of children ordering volition not consciousness the aforesaid way."

Another genitor felt the nutrient was excessively diverse.

"Can we get a paper with items kids volition really eat?" they wrote. "These are agrarian children, they don't devour taste food."

The schoolhouse luncheon programme is offered to astir 75,000 students astatine 268 elementary schools across the province, with astir 50 per cent information by students, said Northcott.

This fall, that volition grow by 76 schools arsenic inferior precocious and mediate schoolhouse grades are added. When that happens, conscionable implicit 100,000 students will be eligible for the program.

"We genuinely judge that each kid deserves entree to a steadfast and enjoyable repast and we're decidedly committed to making that a world for Nova Scotia students," said Northcott.

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