Milwaukee City Wire

A group of Milwaukee Public School (MPS) students have launched a “school lunch justice” campaign, arguing their meal choices are an issue of social justice.

Complaints about school lunches are nothing new, but the MPS student group, Youth Empowered in the Struggle, is demanding better, according to a WISN report.

"It is common knowledge that students who eat well, learn well,” MPS senior Katherine Villanueva told WISN. “We are here today to demand food justice in our schools."

With a recent weekly menu featuring such staples as mesquite chicken leg, steamed carrots, roasted potatoes, strawberries and an orange, critics argue the shortcomings are about process as much as anything else.

"It's cooked at a central location and then distributed to other schools,” MPS sophomore Zoe Smith told WISN. “But then food ends up being lukewarm or like frozen in the middle, or sometimes it's just generally unappetizing to eat."

Freshman Doricela Herrera had a somewhat harsher review on the quality of the food.

"The lunches come out very unfresh and nasty," she said.

Among the changes the students are demanding are larger portions, more choices, food prepared fresh on-site and with more consideration given to religious and other dietary restrictions, according to the report.

While school officials insist all menus meet Department of Agriculture requirements, students argue the issue runs deeper than that. 

"Kids are there to learn, and if you're not getting fed well, you're not going to learn so well," freshman William Pickard told WISN.

The student group is calling on the MPS board to consider their demands, with the "the most pressing issue" being the quality of school lunches, WISN reported.