“Prepare lunch because today you ate a ham and cheese sandwich and a pear,” a mother warned in an ironic tone in a chat on the CEIP San Agustín of The Orotava to inform about the menu that the students in the dining room received yesterday, some 150 boys and girls.
The families had received a message on their mobile phone in the morning from the management team through the school application in which they were informed of the situation: “Due to the circumstances arising from the lack of staff in the dining room kitchen, and following the instructions of the Ministry of Education, we are forced to adapt the menu to a single dish in order to provide continuity to the service.”
The families remained calm until in the afternoon, when they went to look for their sons and daughters, they confirmed that they had only been given “a sandwich and a pear” and some even “received only cheese because the ham had already run out.” “, says the father of one of those affected.
They assure that it is not the first time that it has happened and that is why they are outraged, because in addition, in this school year the school joined the Canary Islands School Eco-eaters program with which it aims to improve the quality of food, projecting educational values and food health through the commitment and development of organic agricultural production in the Canary Islands with fresh, local and seasonal products.
“The menus are supposed to be prepared by specialized dieticians and the first problem with the staff is that they give you a ham sandwich. Why didn’t they prepare a pot of rice or macaroni?” the family members complain, while demanding more information from the center’s management: “Where is the directive that does not transmit truthful and verified information about the situation that took place today (yesterday) in the dining room and gave families the option of being able to pick up the students to have lunch at their house or at a family member’s?, they ask.
Families were unable to contact the school
The Association of Mothers and Fathers of Students (AMPA) has been informed at the same time and through the same channel as the families regarding what happened. “At the time we wanted to contact the school we couldn’t do it because it was already closed,” says Carolina Hernández, president until yesterday. “In my case, I am the mother of a large family and today even my responsibility within the AMPA has been questioned,” she adds.
After this event and due to “the barrage of people” who have held the association responsible, the board of directors presented their resignation and Hernández had to be treated for an anxiety attack. On the same afternoon yesterday, the families were notified of the call for an extraordinary assembly for Friday, January 19, with a single point on the agenda: electing the new representatives.
The AMPA confirms that this problem has existed since the beginning of the school year and families have been informed. Likewise, the center told them that on several occasions the Department of Education was contacted to send auxiliary personnel, “even before the course began.”
“We have always asked for information and constant support from Fitapa (Federation of Ampas) but it is not the fault of the school or the AMPA, the Department’s Canteen area is very saturated. And it is not the only school where this happens because there are many of us who come to Fitapa to see how we solve this problem,” states Hernández.
“The type of food is a decision of the center, there are no instructions”
The Ministry of Education clarifies that the protocol that was followed with the menu “is a decision of the center, there is no instruction on the type of food for the single dish.” It is the center that must also communicate the loss of staff “and they try to replace them as soon as possible.” In this sense, they remember that this course has been allocated one million euros to hire up to one hundred workers with whom to reinforce the staff of the canteens and speed up the coverage of sick leave and other temporary situations that often cause the greatest problems of management of the dining rooms
