Parents tell school board meals include high sugar and possible mold; district says vendor meets federal guidelines

Daisy Crosswell, a parent at Park School, and her son Carter Crosswell addressed the board during public comment about the quality and nutritional content of free school lunches.

"There was some mold found on cheese, in over the past few weeks," Daisy Crosswell said, and she added that some cereals served contain about 22 grams of sugar per single serving and that the district is serving nonfat milk, which she described as inconsistent with current nutritional recommendations.

Carter Crosswell, introduced by his mother as an incoming fifth grader, told the board: "A lot of kids, like, just throw it out because it's not good... All it does is just give us a stomachache, a headache, and just give us less energy." He asked the board to "have some eyes on it" and improve nutrition and quality.

District response: a district staff member acknowledged the concerns, said the current provider is "meeting the federal guidelines for nutrition" based on its bid and contract, and that staff would investigate why quality issues (including the mold allegation) were not previously flagged. Staff noted the district received only one bid for the food contract and said they would follow up with the provider.

Why it matters: trustees and staff said they want students to arrive ready to learn. The board thanked the speakers and directed staff to review the specific quality concerns; no formal policy or contract change was voted at the meeting.

Provenance: the comments came during the public comment portion of the June 18 meeting and the staff response was recorded immediately afterward.

Attribution: quotes and attributions are taken directly from the public comment and staff reply recorded in the meeting transcript.