New York City Lawmakers Want to Assign Letter Grades for Cleanliness in School Cafeterias
You wouldn't want to eat at a restaurant that received a C grade by the Health Department, but would you send your kid to a school whose cafeteria had that grade? Probably not -- but a new report finds that some parents are doing just that without even knowing it.
The report, compiled by the Independent Democratic Conference, looked at data from the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and found that more than 300 school cafeterias received mice-related violations in the past year. Sen. Jeff Klein said he wants to make sure that cafeterias, like restaurants, are graded on their cleanliness. The report stated that 31 schools would have received a C rating under that system. And while many adults wouldn't go to a restaurant with a C grade, kids don't have a choice. Klein said a grading system will give students and parents a chance to push for cleaner lunchrooms.
"Kids are smart. They know A, B and C. They know C is bad, A is good and they'll tell their parents", he said.
A Health Department spokesperson said the majority of school lunchrooms do meet standards.
“School cafeterias perform very well on health inspections, with 86 percent earning the equivalent of an “A” grade on initial inspection compared to 59 percent of restaurants," Stephanie Buhle said. "The Health Department and DOE work closely together to correct violations quickly."
A spokesperson for the city's Department of Education said they will work with the Department of Health to make the report's findings more accessible to the public.
