D.C. school lunch firm questioned on nutrition

The Washington Times ^ | January 26, 2010 | Staff

[yoe]

A company that serves meals to 2½ million schoolchildren daily in more than 500 districts nationwide, with multimillion-dollar contracts in both Washington and Chicago, has a history of marginal quality and food-safety scares amid concerns over the nutritional content of its school menus, according to school and company records.

Chartwells-Thompson School Dining Services, a subsidiary of the Charlotte, N.C.-based Compass Group, owner of Burger King, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, is one of North America's largest school cafeteria operators — its contracts with the Chicago Public Schools from 2001 to 2009 totaling more than $289 million and a D.C. operation that could net the firm as much as $140 million from 2008 to 2013.

Besides sharing the same food service provider, the D.C. and Chicago districts both suffer from high rates of poverty and child obesity in what are known as "food deserts," areas with poor access to healthy, affordable food. The District has the highest rate of adolescent obesity in the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Chicago ranks fourth-highest.

[yoe]

Connecting a few dots Chicago Style:

(D.C. school lunch firm (Chartwells-Thompson) questioned on nutrition)..............(Chartwells-Thompson wins Chicago Public Schools account) Chicago cronyism per-usual and now with Rahm Emanuel as Mayor, the Chicago Political machine is as strong as it ever was....using children as Human Shields for a food company is repulsive.

[steve8714]

They are foreign-owned, also.

[Sacajaweau]

I've seen my grandchildren's lunch menu....crap...day after day...

Just provide the milk or chocolate drink.

:Kids are getting fat because schools are "overfeeding".

[jimt]

These companies are doing a GREAT job of providing “nutritious meals” here in Houston. Check out this wonderous menu:

Pizza
Mashed potatoes
Beans
Bread

That’s gonna keep the kiddies lean and well fed, isn’t it ?

The fat is, many of these programs go way overboard on the carbs, and seriously neglect protein and dairy. Why not feed ‘em candy bars ? Same “nutritional content”, and they’d actually like them.

Get the goobermint OUT of feeding kids.

[knarf]

I looked for the “foreign owned” but couldn’t find it.

[B4Ranch]

Arab or Spain?

[newzjunkey]

Compass Group is a British firm.

[Looking4Truth]

RE: Post #4

Same as jail/prison food......

[steve8714]

English and German, they also own what was formerly Canteen. When they took over they tried to muscle all their labor suppliers into 180 days terms.

[B4Ranch]

That would have worked fine except for the minority employees.

[Larry Lucido]

Joan Face: It's PURE starch! And what about Thursday? First of all, the soup: a tablespoon of imitation grape jelly in a bowl of hot water. Not to mention a cocoa-wich: two pieces of white bread, thinly spread with diluted chocolate syrup! And, to top it off: black coffee and cigarettes!

Irwin Mainway: Now, that's a bottomless cup of coffee! Those kids can get REFILLS! All they want! You know?

Joan Face: I'll bet. The dessert is a big bowl of white, refined sugar! This is your idea of a balanced meal, Mr. Mainway?

Irwin Mainway: The kids LOVE it! I mean, it's high energy! You should SEE bounding out the cafeteria! It's unbelievable! I can't keep up with these kids on Thursday! I can't keep up with them!