They are giving their children a core curriculum.
Food service managers at the New York City Department of Education ordered three times as many apples as they needed, forcing them to throw out thousands of cases of rotting fruit over the past four months, The Washington Post has learned.
In March, the city’s DOE’s Food and Nutrition Services office got an offer they couldn’t refuse, ordering 279,000 cases of apples valued at $5,585,580. The federal government covered the cost. The contract was part of a federal and state General Services effort to provide USDA fresh produce for schools. As a result, the city received a huge “bonus” in the form of free Empire, Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious and Granny Smith apples.
New York City got a ton of “bonuses” in the form of Empire, Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious and Granny Smith apples.
But the nation’s largest school system has taken on more than it can handle: Kitchen officials say the massive order is more than schools could consume over a three-year period, overwhelming the Department of Education.
“They eat apples every day, and only apples,” said a parent coordinator at a Bronx elementary school, wondering what had happened to the peaches and tangerines that were previously served at the school.
One mother said she wondered why her son was bringing home “extra apples.”
Food officials said some students will be given two apples for breakfast and two more for lunch.
The children are also not given any other fruit, officials said: “Students want watermelon and tangerines, but now they are told, ‘No, you have to give them apples,’ and the apples they don’t want go in the trash.”
“If you order a case of oranges, you get two cases of apples. If you want bananas, you get two more cases of apples. It’s like having apples stuffed up your nose,” the boss complained.
Sources said up to 45 percent of the 5,299 cases of apples that have already been delivered have already been discarded.
Stomach-turning photos show cases soiled with rotten, mouldy apples – some of which are so shriveled they’re beyond recognition – and fetid juice that has seeped into cardboard boxes.
Food wholesalers have 28,012 cases in stock this week, with an additional 15,544 cases due to be added in September, according to an email seen by The Washington Post.
“Despite warnings from vendors, administrators and cooks that schools could not handle such large quantities of fresh apples, OFNS decided to go ahead,” an Education Ministry source said, adding that officials saw it as “free money.”
“They ignored feedback that these apples were likely to be wasted.”
Schools are being forced to accept large quantities of already rotten or damaged apples from wholesalers who are being hit with a steady supply from the USDA, which regularly provides a “bonus” of free food items to schools across the country.
“We have apples that are rotting and we would like to know how you plan to dispose of the rotting apples before we receive more apples,” one food distributor pleaded with the OFNS director in an email obtained by The Washington Post.
“Your apples need to be accepted,” inventory management specialist Christina Pérez told buyers.
“Please arrange for delivery,” Director Lisa D’Amato confirmed.
Buyers have also complained to the farms, pleading with them to carry out quality control inspections before shipping.
“We cannot afford to occupy warehouses with thousands of cases of apples of such poor quality coming in every day,” a distributor representative said in an email.
One of the city’s three food wholesalers said this week it had to throw out about 3,000 cases of apples, while another discarded 86 cases on Thursday, sources said.
In June, just before the end of the school year, one distributor was scheduled to receive two shipments of 924 cases each. The fruit has a shelf life of 15 to 25 days.
Prepackaged apple slices are popular, but many end up being thrown away: The snacks, made by Champlain Valley Specialties, a longtime city contractor, often arrive at schools on or before their best-by date, when the fruit is already brown.
Many say New York City should find a way to distribute its surplus fruit to its 1.2 million hungry people.
“A lot of people don’t even have anything to eat,” said Jennifer Elber, 69, whose grandson attends Summer Rising at PS 287 in downtown Brooklyn. “It’s crazy. There’s so much need in this city.”
“Instead of just throwing it away, wrap it up and give it to someone in need,” agreed Julius Telfair, 35, who was picking up his niece from PS287.
The DOE could have donated the apples to City Harvest, a food distribution charity, but the agency didn’t want to admit to over-ordering, the person said. “They don’t want to look bad.”
Officials said the Department of Energy has “not received any recent complaints about bad apples.”
Department for Education spokeswoman Jenna Lyle said reports of waste were “unfounded” and that schools could donate unused food.
Lyle claimed that in addition to apples, “grapes, watermelon, pears and strawberries are also regularly served at the school.”
“Healthy eating is core to the development and success of New York’s youth, and we’re proud to provide free summer meals to all kids 18 and under in the Big Apple.”
Additional reporting by Claire Samstag
