A pointed debate in school food service |
On Board Online • May 2, 2016
By Cathy Woodruff
Senior Writer
Consider the spork, the school cafeteria's quintessential compromise.
In the hand of a hungry second-grader, it can spear a chunk of fruit, deliver it to its toothy target and scoop up a dab of applesauce with barely a break in momentum.
It's not quite a spoon, it's not a full-fledged fork and it has little chance of being mistaken for a knife. Yet, this blunt piece of plastic has evolved into a sharply divisive implement that earns no better than a split decision among school food service managers.
Critics say the typical plastic spork is no match for a piece of chicken on the bone or other common fare.
"Just try to eat spaghetti with a spork," challenged Patty Barber, food service director in the Phoenix School District in Oswego County, where sporks have been banished from the lunchroom.
"They tend to be flimsy, they don't have very long tines - and, it's a spork!" Barber exclaimed with distain. "They're just terrible. Nobody wants to eat with a spork. Kids need a fork and a spoon."
Barber and several other food service managers say that, despite its intended function as either a fork or a spoon, the spork falls short on both counts.
The New York City Department of Education bought 124 million sporks last year, a spokeswoman said. But now the all-in-one utensil is poised to go the way of inkwells and film strips in the nation's largest school district, which serves hundreds of thousands of meals every day.
The city plans to replace plastic sporks with individual forks, knives and spoons made of compostable materials as part of an initiative it is undertaking with partners in the Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Orlando school districts.
"RIP the spork," said NYC Department of Education spokeswoman Toya Holness. While the last days for sporks in city schools haven't yet been marked on any calendars, the end is expected sometime this year, she said.
New York City's sporks are being retired as part of a broader initiative that also includes a transition to compostable lunch plates, which replaced polystyrene trays last year in city schools.
"Our goal is to train students from a very young age to eat with a fork and knife, while ensuring that we are using compostable materials in our cafeterias," Holness said.
"In a perfect world, I would agree that we should have a knife, a fork and a spoon," agreed Tom Murphy, school lunch manager of the Longwood school district on Long Island, which still uses sporks. But, "the sporks are considerably cheaper than going with multiple utensils," he noted.
Sporks also rule in the Albany school district, which serves at least 6,000 lunches and 3,000 breakfasts on a typical day. During one recent week, the district served some 9,800 meals per day.
Even a tiny difference in the price of utensils adds up fast, said Lisa Finkenbinder, Albany's director of food service. "Every penny we can spare really has to go into food," she said.
She also noted that the sporks used by her district come wrapped in handy individual packets that include a napkin and a straw, making them a clean-and-speedy pickup item in the lunch line.
"It's one-stop shopping for the kids, and it's sanitary," said Finkenbinder, who previously worked in hospitals and nursing homes. "I really have to push this from an infection control point-of-view. And then, it's efficient when kids walk through the line."
Younger students seem to like sporks just fine, according to officials in districts that use them.
"I questioned our elementary staff about the attraction of the spork for their students, and it is their opinion that the young students find using this utensil easier than using a fork," said Chris Van Damm, director of food service at Rondout Valley in Ulster County.
But overall, demand for sporks these days appears to be waning, said two suppliers contacted by On Board.
"It seems like sporks aren't as popular as they used to be," said Rory Evans, an account manager for US Foods based in Clifton Park. Many buyers now are opting for equipment that allows diners to dispense individual plastic utensils, such as a product Georgia Pacific offers under the brand name SmartStock, she said.
"That is hands-free. It's more sanitary," she said.
Joe Messina, vice president of sales for NYSID (New York State Industries for the Disabled), described the interest level for sporks among his customers as "basically, zero."
Though the non-profit doesn't currently supply utensils for any K-12 public schools, Messina said, sporks used to be in greater demand from NYSID's customers, which include state hospitals, prisons and universities.
"I just think the spork, in general, has lost its appeal," he said.