One mom is calling on Milwaukee Public School's to do more to make lunch healthier and tastier for students.
She started a petition Friday in hopes of improving school lunches and it's already generated more than 2,800 signatures. Rebecca Adamietz started the petition when she noticed her son skipping lunch.
"Many, many days he comes home and says I didn't eat anything," Adamietz said.
The 6th grader would love a steak but said little changes would be sufficient.
"Fruit that isn't frozen and then defrosted and vegetables that aren't just cold," said "TJ" Johnson.
Adamietz started comparing her son's menu at MPS to her daughter's in Wauwatosa.
"They would give us vegetables at the counter and then like we could go choose extra vegetables or fruits," said Lydia Johnson.
This mom said the biggest differences are the options.
"We're the dairy state so it would be great to have some maybe yogurt options come in or some type of dairy options cheese sticks and things like that. At least maybe there's a second option."
Adamietz tried calling her son's school.
"Reached out to the dietician at his school to see if I could talk to somebody and nobody was available, but the young lady who answered the phone from the office said well it's free," Adamietz said.
Adamietz went to the school Tuesday during lunch.
"The staff who talked with me today when I was at my son's school I asked him if he would eat the food and he said never," she said.
In response to the petition an MPS spokesperson said, "Milwaukee Public Schools meets all federal nutrition standards for the meals we serve. The district is also a long-time supporter of the Farm-to-School movement, with our support of and participation in this effort dating back 15 years. We also work closely with a student advisory council to design meals that are not only nutritious but delicious."
Adamietz thinks they can do better.
"The way the food is presented in MPS almost looks like something you would get in a jail," she said.
She plans to attend an upcoming school board meeting to talk about some of her ideas and concerns.
