There is growing student concern over meals at Tulsa Public Schools. Just ask these Kendall-Whittier Elementary schoolers.

Cold meat, chunky milk and churning stomachs. A group of Tulsa Public Schools students at Kendall-Whittier Elementary have one word for lunch: disgusting.

Maisy Archer, a fifth grader at Kendall-Whittier, brought her group’s complaints to the school board Monday. They’ve collected nearly 300 student signatures so far, she said, and the majority agree TPS needs more “healthy and tasty food at school.” 

It’s the latest in a growing list of complaints about the district’s child nutrition contractor, Aramark. Now a school board leader is ready to make a change. He’s even betting his reelection on it.

“From what we have seen and eaten, we are served ultra-processed foods on a daily basis,” Maisy told the school board. “Many students simply do not eat lunch at school because of this and would rather throw away their entire lunch than to eat it, leaving them hungry and unfocused in class.”

TPS provides universal free breakfast and lunch to all students in the district. It first contracted with Aramark for child nutrition in June 2024 and drew loud pushback from support staff members when the district renewed the partnership last spring. 

With support from Tulsa Changemakers, an afterschool program led by nonprofit Leadership Tulsa, the Kendall-Whittier students collected “countless complaints” about school meals this year through surveys, interviews and focus groups. Their criticisms mirror those raised by Clinton West Elementary fifth graders at a February school board meeting — especially with the milk.

“It was like, flaky and chunky.
It was like stew,” Maisy recalled of a milk carton she opened in April before a club meeting. “I smelled it and it was really terrible, and then I looked at the expiration date. It wasn’t past the expiration date.”

The Flyer reached out to the district about concerns raised by Kendall-Whittier students, and a district spokesperson shared a statement that reads, in part:

“We know that quality nutrition is critical for learning and we are committed to making sure no young person in our schools goes hungry. We also know that including student voice in the planning and implementation of school meals is crucial for developing menus that students like and look forward to each day.”

Parents’ responses to the student-led survey said meals resemble prison food, Maisy told the board.  

As of April, Aramark is the new food service provider for Oklahoma’s Department of Corrections. The vendor is a longtime food service provider for prisons across the country, though its practices have been criticized by many incarcerated people and their families, often through lawsuits. 

“I don’t like my school lunch because the meat is bouncy and the hamburger(s) are cold and hard,” third grader Gael wrote in a letter to the school board. “I want my school improved because some kids get nauseous.”

In a meeting with Calvin Moniz, vice president of the TPS school board, the Changemakers shared some students would “rather be hungry” than eat the food provided to them. Moniz told them he won’t run for reelection if meals don’t improve. 

“There’s not a single stakeholder that has said that they’re happy,” Moniz told the Flyer. “At this point I can no longer support Aramark as our vendor … TPS has to make a change.”

Aramark led its own outreach effort about school meals across TPS sites this semester. The vendor collected more than 2,500 responses from students, according to the district. Participation was voluntary and feedback was positive, said Naomi Whitby-Brown, Aramark’s district manager for TPS. 

Whitby-Brown did not agree to an interview or answer specific questions about the Kendall-Whittier students’ concerns, but she said in a statement that students and staff expressed “excitement about having a voice in conversations around menus, food quality, and their overall café experience.” 

“What we’re hearing affirms many strengths of the current program — students enjoy many of the core menu items and feel confident navigating daily offerings, while also highlighting thoughtful opportunities for growth, such as greater variety in fruits and vegetables and ideas for future menu development,” the statement to the Flyer reads in part.

The Changemakers aren’t convinced. Aramark employees seemed “on guard” during the focus group, Maisy said. 

“Every time I would say ‘the food is disgusting,’ there was this lady that would always look at me and then stop smiling,” said third grader Jaxon. 

Aramark also brought sorbet desserts to the focus group, which Maisy said felt more like “bribes.”   

“I said they should add them to our school lunch,” said Chad Griffin, third grader. “But we only had them for a day because they had like, sugar.”

Moniz said he hasn’t heard “a single word from any representative at Aramark” about the focus group results, his concerns or those raised by students, families and support staff. He believes the next appropriate step is for the district to request new vendor proposals.  

“I would love to see the results of that survey and the types of questions they asked our students — to make sure that they were not leading questions and make sure they were not bribing our students,” said Moniz. 

Kendall-Whittier students are divided. While the majority believe Aramark needs to go, some believe they can improve the lunch experience. 

“We still need to give Aramark a chance,” said Chad. 

Maisy hopes her comment at Monday’s meeting will inspire board action. 

“I wanted to tell the people that are on the school board, ‘Hey it does matter, kids are throwing up, kids are falling asleep in their class,’” Maisy said before the meeting. “‘You say Aramark has nutritional guidelines, but the stuff that we have is gray and sloppy.’”

The board plans to consider the district’s agreement with Aramark at a June meeting. Superintendent Ebony Johnson or a designee has 60 days to address the specific issues and concerns raised Monday night. 

Disclosure: Marcia Bruno-Todd, Leadership Tulsa’s executive director, serves as the chair of the Tulsa Flyer’s board of directors. News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.