SENATOR IWEN CHU BLASTS NYC PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR DESPICABLE SCHOOL LUNCHES

(Brooklyn, NY) After receiving complaints from local parents and students, Senator Iwen Chu sent a letter to the mayor and NYC Public Schools Chancellor David Banks condemning the horrifying lunches served to NYC students. Photos of moldy and inadequate lunches were provided by students at Brooklyn Tech High School, Staten Island Tech High School, Murrow High School, and Midwood High School. The changes to lunch menus come at a time of drastic NYC budget cuts and attempts for cost saving. 

Senator Iwen Chu said, “It is unacceptable to see the quality of school lunches being provided to our students. No student should be presented with moldy, unappetizing, slimy, and incomplete food options. Insufficient meals harm a child’s memory, concentration, motor skills, energy, and overall mood. For students facing food insecurity, they rely on free or reduced fee school lunches that can provide them with nutrition and protein. In order to save costs, NYC is putting our own youth on the chopping block and leaving students with no choice but to starve. As a public-school mom myself, I am appalled at the quality of food options and demand urgent action to improve school lunches.”

Senator Chu will continue to monitor the experiences of NYC students and raise concerns to NYC Public Schools. She encourages students still experiencing bad school lunches to send photos and information to Iwenchu@nysenate.gov.

Senator Iwen Chu (SD-17) represents southern Brooklyn to include Kensington, Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, and Bath Beach. She is the first Asian-American woman to serve in the New York State Senate, representing the first official majority-AAPI district in the state.