A New York middle school and their food vendor have apologized after students were served foods stereotypically associated with Black people for lunch on the first day of Black History Month.
According to CNN, students at Nyack Middle School in Rockland County, were served chicken and waffles with watermelon on February 1.
“The offering of chicken & waffles as an entree with watermelon as a dessert on the first day of Black History Month was inexcusably insensitive and reflected a lack of understanding of our district’s vision to address racial bias,” the school’s principal David Johnson wrote in a letter to parents.
According to Johnson, Aramark, the school’s food vendor changed the menu items without telling the school.
The meal was suppose to be Philly cheesesteak, broccoli and fresh fruit according to a lunch menu on the school’s website for February. Aramark apologized in a statement, saying the food was not meant to be a cultural meal.
“We apologize for the unintentional insensitivity shown on February 1, the first day of Black History Month,” the company said in the statement. “While our menu was not intended as a cultural meal, we acknowledge that the timing was inappropriate, and our team should have been more thoughtful in its service.”
