Making the BIC Menu More Appealing

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Franklin Franco in News

Franklin Franco

Erika Buot

Editor-In-Chief & Photo Editor

Jeff Mills, CEO of Genuine Foods, and Cary Greene, food lawyer, discussed the infamous topic of “Breakfast in the Classroom” and how students are negatively reacting to the menus of their schools, even here at Hollywood High.

Mills was involved with launching the BIC programs in schools in Washington D.C. Mills said it was meant to be more convenient for students and allowed all students to receive food, removing the stigma attached to the whole school lunch issue.

“You didn’t know who qualified and who didn’t. We even did that for lunch.” said Mills.

“The benefit of [the program] is that the students can have [breakfast], but there [has always] been a stigma attached. Where people in the program would either be allowed to get the food or [not]. [Now] there is no stigma attached, which is great.” said Carla Hall, co-host of “The Chew.”

Although the title of the session alluded to a discussion on the food at this school, the debate mainly revolved around the financial issues of the BIC system and how other regions, mainly D.C., have been trying to advocate for better prepared food.

What was also addressed in the session was how students are reacting negatively towards the food they are served and question how nutritious it really is. It was agreed that is common to see that food is having a big impact on students and the general public, making the industry pretty important.

“Big food really controls what’s happening.” said Mills.

The reason why it may be hard for kids to be satisfied with the food on the menu is because the food vendors involved may not be as willing to spend more money on variety when they can buy the same things for a cheaper price. Mills and Greene said that either way, much of the food is being modified to fit the standards of “nutrition” that the schools need to have.

It was brought up how students are “grossed out” by the food served. Greene argued over the fact that students might just hate the way the food is prepared, and the problem does not have to do with the food itself and its taste. He also said that this increases the problem of food being wasted every day.

“The average studies show that 25 percent of the food just gets thrown away. So we should reduce that. Either it gets thrown away  or kids just choose not to eat it before it even reaches their plate.” Greene said.

When it came to the food here, it was advised that students do something to advocate for better food on the menus so that “voices can be heard” and so that there is more of a student and parent involvement in the food system.