Mother of three Patti Miskolczi from Oxford, Mich., is raising her voice. She’s especially concerned that school meals are getting more expensive while increasing portion sizes. Even Miskolczi is starting to feel the financial strain after having seen her fares soar from £2.55 to £2.90 in April alone. Ensuring her children have good nutrition while at school has been less of a challenge. That’s only school dinners, and she spends £180 a month exclusively on that. On top of that, she shells out hundreds more on supplemental snacks just to ensure her kids have enough to eat.
Miskolczi’s concerns don’t just focus on the cooking costs, but the amount being given on each plate. She pointed to her kids, who frequently come home from school, she said, complaining about not getting enough to eat. “Unfortunately, my children keep reporting that the portions are really small – so they don’t get filled enough, they need to take the snack boxes with them as well,” she stated.
In the accompanying shot, Miskolczi is all glam, sporting a half-smile and edgy hair in a strappy yellow top. Two slices of bread and a cup of yogurt rests next to her. In the background, a tropical teal-colored living room bursts with boisterous greenery and bright colorful canvases. This photo highlights her struggling, yet determined fight to get her children the nutrition they need. She courageously pushes back against the damaging impacts of school meal policies.
Local media has played a key role in shining a spotlight on the controversy that has surrounded school meals. Bethan Nimmo, a crime and investigations reporter, prominently told Miskolczi’s story on BBC News Oxford and BBC Radio Oxford. She expressed her fears about the ongoing increases in meal prices: “I am, to be honest, terrified of the cost of it, and that it’s constantly going up.”
Miskolczi had more than just general complaints about meal sizes. She likened them to subpar school lunches that she thinks don’t cut it for developing kids. “Reception school children get one sausage; from Year 2 above you get two sausages and literally an ice cream scoop of mash potato,” she explained.
Judith Gregory, a spokesperson for independent local school caterers, strikes a chord with these worries. She is realistic about the substantial pressure that inflation puts on the cost of preparing meals. Gregory stated, “We are having to look at cheaper ingredients,” and added that the organization is considering reducing choices on the menu in response to budget constraints.
Gregory reiterated the pledge to end childhood obesity while still giving kids better quality more nutritious foods at prices they can afford. “Caterers are very resourceful staff but there is a limit as to what we are actually able to do when we’re not getting the funding that we need,” she noted.
