On Thursday afternoon, Denver Public Schools confessed to parents the district had “an incident” — an incident that was not very kosher.
The schools served kids ham-and-cheese croissants for breakfast and labeled the sandwiches “vegetarian” on the menu, according to a letter sent to parents.
As a result, unsuspecting students may have been unintentionally duped into violating their religious or moral principles.
“We sincerely apologize for the unintentional serving of pork to students who avoid it,” wrote Theresa Hafner, the district’s executive director of enterprise management.
The sandwiches were served to kids in the Breakfast in the Classroom and Grab and Go Programs, but not in the district’s traditional breakfast program. The error wasn’t just at a single school, but district-wide. DPS is uncertain whether students who don't eat ham actually ate the sandwiches
Misidentifying meat as vegetarian isn’t only a problem for vegetarians. It’s also a big deal for Jewish kids who follow Kosher law and Muslim kids who follow Halal law.
“We recognize this was a severe oversight on our part, and we profoundly understand the religious importance of abstaining from pork in some cultures,” Hafner added.
The district has reviewed the October menu to make sure other foods aren’t improperly labeled. Food and Nutrition Services is also beefing up its recipe and menu reviews, clearly labeling items that contain pork, and giving extra training to the food services team.
“We sincerely apologize for any offense or discomfort this may have caused,” Hafner wrote.
For some parents, the apology worked.
"We did receive a positive response after we sent out the message from a mother who is vegan and whose student is vegan," DPS spokesperson Scott Pribble wrote to Denverite. "She was thankful for our acknowledgement of the error and notifying the community."
Let us know how school breakfast and lunch are going for your kids. Send us a note at [email protected].
Oct. 18, 2024: This story has been updated by comment from DPS spokesperson Scott Pribble.
