Yen Nghia Secondary School, Ha Dong District, reorganized boarding meals from October 23, after two days of suspension due to parents' complaints.

"Everything is fine," a school representative said on the afternoon of October 24. Lunch a few hours earlier included stir-fried beef, pork with beans, squash soup and spinach.

Although not her favorite dish, Vu Thi Ngoc Bich, class 6A10, still found it delicious because the rice was hot and the food was filling. "I ate it all, except for a little bit of beans because it was too much," Bich said.

Bich said that before, the rice was often cold, there were many dishes but they were not evenly distributed on the trays. There were big and small pieces of spring rolls and ham. Another 6th grade boy shared that his favorite dish for lunch today was stir-fried beef and he finished this dish first.

"I find it delicious and like to eat at school," the male student shared.

Ms. Pham Thuy Linh, a parent of the school, also felt that the quality of the meals was better. "I feel secure for now," she said.

Ms. Le Thi Sinh, a member of the school's parent representative board, said that in the afternoon meeting on October 23 between the school, parents and the catering unit, parents proposed a menu, hoping to add beef and shrimp and regularly change the dishes for the students. Observing the new meals, she also saw improvements, with more diverse dishes.

"The company responded favorably to the parents' suggestions. As for the food shortage last time, they promised to compensate each child with a fried chicken leg this week," Sinh said. The parents and the company agreed that the amount of food would be calculated after it was cooked, instead of raw as before.

Yen Nghia Secondary School has installed 3 more cameras in the cafeteria to increase surveillance. A committee of 10 parents representing each grade has been established, and will work with the school to check the food coming in the morning and at noon.

"Since the incident was discovered, we have been closely monitoring and have seen that the company has changed, listened and learned from experience, so we will give them a chance until the end of October," Sinh added. The parents' committee will then take public opinion to decide whether to continue or change the school's lunch provider.

According to Ms. Sinh, when the kitchen suddenly stopped operating last week, many parents were surprised and had their schedules disrupted. They had difficulty arranging to pick up their children and prepare lunch. However, she saw the two-day suspension as an opportunity for the school to reflect and for parents to listen to their children's concerns.

At noon on October 11, when checking their children's meals at school, parents discovered that the 32,000 VND meal only included bean sprout soup, 3-4 pieces of fried tilapia, stir-fried potatoes and a piece of ham. They said that there was a shortage of food compared to the quantity listed on the list. The inventory results showed that the input food for 500 meals of the school included 29 kg of tilapia, 12.5 kg of lean ham, 0.5 kg of lean rump (used to cook soup), 3.5 kg less fish than the quantity.

The supplier later admitted their mistake and apologized, promising to fix it. The school also admitted its shortcomings in supervising and managing the lunch service and hoped that parents would participate more actively in this matter.

Yen Nghia Secondary School signed a contract to provide about 500 meals/day with Hoa Sua Company from the 2020-2021 school year. This year, the price of each lunch is 32,000 VND, which was announced by the school in July and approved by the parents' association.

According to Hoa Sua Company, of the cost price of 32,000 VND, food costs are 24,820 VND. Other costs include: labor 3,300 VND, VAT 2,560 VND (8%), electricity and water 230 VND, asset depreciation 500 VND, cleaning 320 VND, expected profit is 270 VND.

Dawn