FARMINGTON–A fight is brewing in the cafeteria at Farmington High School, but it’s not with food–it’s about food. Several students say they’ve had enough with what’s cooking in the kitchen.
The school’s lunch provider, Chartwells, boast fresh, nutritious and delicious meals on its website, but diners say it’s anything but.
“I know a lot of students have found hairs in their food,” said Eugnie Chen, a senior.
“I’ve had raw chicken, uncooked pasta,” said Cristiana Kamais, also a senior.
Freshman Sam Grabowski-Clark said he brings his own lunch to school, but is concerned for his friends. “Just high, high in salt like I said. Just really poor quality food that I wouldn’t even feed a dog,” he said.
At least a third of the student body agrees. Hundreds are on board with a school lunch boycott next week. “Hopefully all the students don’t buy food that day and kind of prove our point and they lose money so that they negotiate with us,” said Kamais.
She and others told Fox CT they’re not happy with the way Chartwells handles lunchroom transactions, either. “We’re not allowed to charge food anymore, so if they don’t have money, that results in their food being thrown away,” Kamais said of what she calls “public humiliation” by lunchroom employees.
Those concerns will also be on the table when upperclassmen speak with administrators, including the school’s Chartwells director, about food quality on Thursday. Some students met with the the high school principal earlier this week, too.
Boycott organizers told Fox CT that no matter the outcome of those meetings, students will continue with the planned Chartwells boycott to show they’re serious about this food fight.
“A lot of my friends eat food from the school. Some of them are just kind of apathetic about it. They’re just like, ‘I need to eat something in the middle of the day. I’m really hungry, so this is all. That’s it.’ But it shouldn’t be a take it or leave it thing,” said Grabowski-Clark.
In a statement, Kathleen Greider, superintendent of Farmington Public Schools, said the Chartwells lunch program has “very favorable participation levels” and that administrators and Chartwells “will continue to work closely with the group of students expressing concerns.” She wrote multiple times that district officials “deeply respect” students’ opinions.
Requests for comment from corporate Chartwells officials were not returned.