A high school student’s photo went viral of what the district called a “suitable lunch,” but others deemed it a “sad excuse for a meal.”
Maryn Holler, a seventeen-year-old high school student at St. Cloud Area School District 742 in Minnesota had a $3 lunch option on Sept. 13, which comprised of a bunch of carrots, a molten cheese-covered bun and a packet of sauce that, according to the label on it, had something to do with tomatoes.
Holler, apparently saddened by the current state of affairs in the school healthcare and nutrition system posted a photo of her meal to Facebook, commenting:
“Alright so i paid for this to eat at lunch today. I thank God everyday that my family has the money where i get to go home and eat actual food. there are kids at this school who this is ALL THEY GET TO EAT, and we were given a hotdog bun with cheese. it’s honestly sad to know that we go to school and pay around 3 dollars for something that cost .50 cents to make.”
Holler, it seems, had struck a nerve, because the post soon went viral and generated about a thousand shares and nearly an equal amount of comments. Most comments were quite negative about the school district and its nutrition program.
“If your school ‘nutritionist’ didn’t notice this and who knows what else on the menu, I’m not sure I’d have much faith in their judgment going forward,” one user commented. “The students at your school deserve so much better.”
The school soon came with a reply, also on Facebook:
“Oops! We goofed,” the district’s Facebook post says. “Tried a new menu item today at lunch and we hear it was not a winner! Going forward, we will gather input from our students on new menu options. Thanks for the feedback!”
Some people on Facebook accepted the apology, but for many, the school district should not get away with it so easily.
“I don’t believe for a minute that you ‘goofed,’” one said. “You got called out for serving what has got to be the [expletive] lunch I’ve ever seen, and now you’re trying to play the victim… I don’t think so.”
“People in prisons eat better than that,” another added.
“I wouldn’t feed that to my dog!” a third said.
The school, however, has announced taking things seriously and announced a meeting with Holler, to discuss the school meals and how to improve them going forward.
Holler wrote an update on Facebook: “I had a meeting with my school principal and was told I get to have a meeting with the district’s nutritionist. Will keep it updated. This is the start of something that could forever change my district.”