Photo: Suzanne Sausville (WBZ)
ROSLINDALE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and new BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper attended a taste test of the City Fresh Foods meals now served at about half of Boston Public Schools Friday.
Wu and Skipper joined a small group of students at the Haley Pilot School in Roslindale for a lunch of barbecued chicken, mac and cheese, and green beans. The meal got a thumbs up from both the kids and the adults.
"That was pretty delicious food and the chance to be able to share it with our students, I can’t think of a better way to start the day," Skipper said.
"To know that the meals are something the kids actually enjoy, that taste good, and that as parents and guardians we can feel excited that this is the option that they have at school, that is wonderful," said Wu.
In May, City Fresh Foods, a Roxbury-based and Black-owned food service company, reached a $17 million deal with Boston Public Schools to provide breakfast, lunch, after-school meals, fresh snacks, and summer meals for nearly 50,000 BPS students.
City Fresh is also providing students with culturally relevant meals like rice and beans, Jamaican beef patties, and stewed chicken.
"When I looked at pictures, I said, 'That looks like food I eat at home,'" one student told WBZ NewsRadio.
According to the CDC, most U.S. students receive as much as half their daily calories at school, a statistic Wu highlighted during the luncheon.
"I think about that every day because I know the impact it makes," Wu said. "I’m always the mom that has a bag full of snacks because when my little boys get hungry, you do not want to get in the middle of that situation."
WBZ's Suzanne Sausville (@WBZSausville) reports.
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