Nyack Middle School in New York and its food supplier Aramark apologized for serving chicken & waffles and watermelon for the student lunch on the first day of Black History Month.
"The offering of chicken & waffles as an entree with watermelon as a dessert on the first day of Black History Month was inexcusably insensitive and reflected a lack of understanding of our district's vision to address racial bias," the school principal wrote in a public apology statement.
"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," he added.
From CNN:
In a statement, Aramark apologized for the "unintentional insensitivity" shown by the company but said the menu was not intended as a cultural meal.
"We apologize for the unintentional insensitivity shown on February 1, the first day of Black History Month. While our menu was not intended as a cultural meal, we acknowledge that the timing was inappropriate, and our team should have been more thoughtful in its service," the company said[…]
Aramark has previously been criticized for offering food menus that were offensive to Black people. In 2018, two employees were fired after the food vendor served a Black History Month special lunch menu at a New York University dining hall that included ribs, collard greens, cornbread, smashed yams, mac and cheese and two beverages, red Kool-Aid and watermelon-flavored water.
