Has anyone had the free kosher DOE meals?

Goldie613

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 1:24 am

I heard that some of the public schools in New York City are starting to give out kosher meals for free. Has anyone had them? What's in them, and what was the situation like where you went? Long lines and chaos, very organized in and out, etc? Do they give you food for one meal for one person, or is it for multiple days/people?

https://hamodia.com/2020/04/20.....tion/

https://www.schools.nyc.gov/sc.....meals

Thanks

amother

Indigo

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 9:52 am

So far the food is equivalent to the non-kosher food that is being distributed through the public schools.

Lunch and dinner consist of a sandwich, milk, fruit, veggie and possibly a yogurt or other type of snack. Lunch and dinner is the same. Breakfast would be some kind of cold cereal, fruit, milk.

So far as I know, it is meals for one day for each person who needs the food so you would have to pick up each day.

amother

Jade

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 10:01 am

amother [ Indigo ] wrote:

The meal in far Rockaway for breakfast is an apple, some sort of bran muffin, a plain yogurt, and a milk. No cereal. Lunch is a small roll, chummus, tomatoes, and more milk. And another apple.

The non kosher meals are significantly better IMO.

amother

Indigo

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 10:28 am

amother [ Beige ] wrote:

I heard the food comes from Bornstein’s-a caterer that supplies kosher airline food.

It is not airline meals. They are providing the equipment of the non kosher option which is food that doesn’t have to be cooked. A roll and hummus is a sandwich equivalent.

The cost per meal has to be reasonable as well. They are making sure children have nutritional basics and aren’t malnourished and assuming that people who can afford food will not need to travel to receive food.

So whether it is worth it depends on how badly you need basic food for your children.

The food served by Jewish schools is probably different and they might be spending more per meal depending on how they are funding their free meals. Are most of them still giving out to everyone?

amother

Royalblue

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 11:22 am

Please check each item you receive for kosher certification. I heard one of the public school sites in NY was giving out cereal through the kosher meals that was not kosher.

amother

Teal

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 11:40 am

BP kosher meal same as FR.
“breakfast is an apple, some sort of bran muffin, a plain yogurt, and a milk. No cereal. Lunch is a small roll, chummus, tomatoes, and more milk. And another apple. “

2 lunch portions per person, so one is for dinner

Wait was insane. They only started distributing kosher food around 10.

amother

Ruby

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 11:52 am

amother [ Jade ] wrote:

The non-kosher breakfast today was cereal and milk and graham crackers and fruit juice all of which are OU or OU-D so if you eat that then get that if you prefer. The non-kosher lunch today was a peanut butter sandwhich (which they can give in a kosher version as well), chocolate milk which is ou-d, some apple sauce in a container and some corn and black beans in a container so the only thing you can eat from the lunch is the chocolate milk if you eat OU-D. So it seems like the kosher food is actually better than the non-kosher food unless you want cereal and milk for breakfast which you should be able to get if you ask for it. I will try to see what the kosher food is like on Monday and will let you know.

amother

Beige

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 12:01 pm

amother [ Indigo ] wrote:

Indigo,
I never said it was airline food.
However, I will specify that if you have the option you can get more substantial meals from the frum schools distribution.

amother

Chartreuse

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 12:20 pm

I went today in Flatbush. Got there at 7:30 and there was already a line. People were taking tons but by the time it was my turn they were saying to not take so much so they’ll have enough.
Breakfast was milk, apple, muffin (that was gross) and a small yogurt. Lunch was milk, apple, hummus, and a small roll. Totally not worth the wait. The food from yeshiva is more useful to me and if I get there early enough, there’s no wait.

Ema of 5

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 12:35 pm

momofboys wrote:

Starting tommorow

Depends where. In Williamsburg they started Tuesday, on Far rockaway they started today. I don’t recall seeing anything starting tomorrow, but I could be wrong.
ETA: oops, didn’t realize the time on your post :-) It started today.

Last edited by Ema of 5 on Thu, Apr 23 2020, 12:36 pm; edited 1 time in total

Ema of 5

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 12:36 pm

amother [ Jade ] wrote:

Also, no dinner

amother

Mint

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 12:36 pm

amother [ Indigo ] wrote:

Exactly. It's great that they provide for everyone regardless of need, but the whole purpose is to feed kids who would lack food otherwise and go hungry. The food provided is exactly that. I'd never expect the equivalent of getting food from a takeout or caterer.
It's a huge help for those truly in need.

amother

Maroon

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 12:40 pm

I waited in BP from around 10:15. At 11:25 they ran out of food. There were only 2 people ahead of me then. My kids (who were waiting for me) were not very happy...

Ema of 5

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 12:42 pm

amother [ Ruby ] wrote:

Here (Bayswater) the non-kosher meal was chicken or turkey sandwich. I didn’t look to see if the milk was regular or chocolate milk. Apple sauce, peanut butter, corn, and beans sounds like a much healthier lunch than bread and chumus....a chicken or turkey sandwich sounds healthier too....

amother

Jade

Thu, Apr 23 2020, 12:53 pm

Ema of 4 wrote:

I heard that the issue is that according to NYC guidelines they have to include milk with the lunch, and for obvious reasons the kosher caterer can't serve milk and a turkey/chicken sandwich, so he's limited to different sandwich alternatives. I imagine we'll end up seeing tuna sandwiches, bagels with cream cheese, etc. But no deli sandwiches.