Slimy, unrecognizable food served to Buffalo Public School students, parent says

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- One parent is calling for better quality food to be served to Buffalo Public School students after describing the current food as "unidentifiable."

Phil Beavers, a leader with the Lovejoy Village Association, contacted WIVB News 4 with concerns about the quality of school lunches at Buffalo Public Schools. He said his daughter is on the free lunch program at School 366. It's a program that many families rely on.

Beavers said a slimy looking turkey and cheese sandwich was on the menu recently at school. The other meal pictured is supposed to be meatloaf and potatoes.

Beavers said these meals are oftentimes thrown away, which results in him having to go to the school to deliver his daughter lunch.

"This is not something that the children want, the children want to see something that's edible, appealing, and if that's the case, if you're just giving food that's just meeting the federal standard, then the food is just going to be wasted anyways because the kids are going to throw it away," he said.

Beavers said they rely on the free lunch program because packing lunch and sending it to school can get expensive.

"Sadly the funds aren't really available to do that on a constant basis," Beavers said. "My mother does it, we provide it a couple days, but we and other families in the district rely on this and this is the school lunch that we so-called fought for?"

Beavers said this issue affects his daughter's ability to learn.

In response to this complaint, a spokesperson for the district said the district always looks to make free breakfasts and lunches nutritious, healthy and enjoyable for all students. BPS said the meals they serve follow nutrition guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The BPS' Food Service Budget is roughly $50 million. The district is eyeing a proposed new food service central kitchen.

The district also said it would be contacting Beavers directly to address his concerns.

Beavers wants to see the district work with more local vendors and local farms to provide food to students.