Nyack Middle School has come under scrutiny for recognizing the first day of Black History Month with a meal that consisted of fried chicken, waffles, and watermelon.
In an apology letter, school officials claimed that Aramark, the school meal provider, acknowledged the meal was “inexcusably insensitive,” according to ABC 7 Eyewitness News NY. The administrators also claim that the meal provider, Aramark, provided food that was not scheduled. (RELATED: It Makes No Sense To Censor Offensive Words)
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“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 said in a letter, according to the outlet.
“Nyack Public Schools administrators contacted Aramark officials to insist on a mechanism to avoid a repeat of yesterday’s mistake. The vendor has agreed to plan future menu offerings to align with our values and our longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. 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,” the statement continued, the outlet noted.
In 2018, Aramark served a similar meal at New York University (NYU) to commemorate Black History Month, which resulted in a backlash and caused the university to sever ties with the meal provider, the New York Times reported.