Food vendor under fire for serving chicken, watermelon for Black History Month

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Food vendor Aramark has embarrassed itself — yet again — with a culturally tone-deaf meal served to middle school students for Black History Month.

People Magazine reports that on Feb. 1, students at a Nyack, N.Y. school were served chicken, waffles and watermelon for lunch, a meal that was served after the district’s food vendor changed the original lunch menu without notice.

School principal David Johnson told parents in a letter sent last week, “We are extremely disappointed by this regrettable situation and apologize to the entire Nyack community for the cultural insensitivity displayed by our food service provider. 

“I am disappointed that Aramark would serve items that differed from the published monthly menu. Especially items that reinforce negative stereotypes concerning the African-American Community.”

Aramark apologized, calling the menu incident a mistake in a formal statement that included their intent, “to deepen understanding on the impact of systemic biases and negative stereotypes concerning the African-American Community.

Aramark has done this before.

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In 2018, the company served NYU students a “Black History Month Menu” with ribs, collard greens, cornbread, smashed yams, mac and cheese, red Kool-Aid and watermelon-flavoured water. There were complaints.

In 2011, the food-service company offered students at the University of California Irvine a “MLK Holiday Special: Chicken and Waffles,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

There were complaints then, too.

At the time, officials with Aramark Corp said they would conduct cultural sensitivity training for all managers and chefs.