Chicago Students Are Boycotting Gross School Lunches

Chicago public school students are boycotting their school's lunches and demanding something healthier and less unappetizing.

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Complex Original

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A group of public school students in Chicago are done eating their garbage school lunches, they say, and will boycott their school's meals until they get better. 

According to the protest's website

Today, our lunch at Roosevelt is no better than the ones in Cook County prison.  In fact Aramark is the food service provider for both institutions.  Prisons only care about one thing when it comes down to meals- that it has enough nutrients for what the human body needs, it doesn’t matter if it tastes or smells bad.  One online review of the prison food shows that prisoners get better food from Aramark than we do.  For example they have corn muffins, steamed carrots, green beans, also mac and cheese.  They also drink Kool-Aid.

The students have posted photos of the food to their website, which really does look pretty bad. 

In an interview with WBEZ (via Take Part), one of the longtime teachers at Roosevelt High said he supports what the students at the school, which has a student body that's 94 percent minorities, are doing.

“I think it’s especially important for young people in Chicago—where we see so much corruption, cronyism, and nepotism—that they learn how to make change within large organizations,”

The students say they want bigger portions, more nutritious food and meals that are at least partly made from scratch. A moveon.org petition has close to 1,000 signatures so far. 

Take Part reports that every meal that the students don't eat will cost the school system and Aramark about $1.50 each.

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