Janitors and food service workers at Aramark Corp. testified at a public hearing Saturday that food shortages, unhealthy food, and unsantitary practices are all too common at area public schools the company services.

Telling stories of sugary and greasy foods, shortages of fruits and vegetables, schools so short staffed that classrooms aren’t properly sanitized, and poverty-wage jobs with no benefits, school service workers say Aramark, the largest food service contractor in the U.S., is making it hard for them to do their jobs and provide the schools with the quality service they should be getting.

“I know that schools are a place where germs spread quickly, and I want to make sure that my school is as clean and safe for students and for workers,” said Luis Placensia, a janitor at Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park. “But I don’t feel that Aramark gives me the tools that I need to do that.  Janitors at all three schools in the district have said that there is too much work and not enough time and staff.”

Food service workers share these concerns, saying that bare-bones staffing has led to poor nutrition for kids.

“We frequently run out of fruits and vegetables to serve the kids.  We get them free, from the federal government, to help low-income kids have healthy, balanced meals, but we just don’t have enough staff to actually cook the vegetables and put the fruit on plates,” said Arletta Pearson, a food service worker at Dirksen Middle School in Dolton.  “I want the kids to have everything they need for a nutritious meal, and I feel bad when I have to tell them we’ve run out of something healthy that they want to eat, especially when I know we could have it for them.”

Schools have been increasingly outsourcing cleaning and food service to for-profit companies.  There are now, 4,300 school service workers in Chicago’s suburban schools working for for-profit companies like Aramark.  But workers say there isn’t enough oversight of these private companies to ensure that they meet the needs of students and schools.

“Children deserve healthy food and clean schools,” said State Representative William Davis, Vice-Chair of the Illinois House Elementary     and Secondary Education Appropriations Committee.  “But when companies like Aramark fail to provide quality services to our schools, it is the role of state and local governments working together to make sure they are accountable.”

Workers and parents worry that schools, students and communities lose when for-profit companies like Aramark cut corners wherever they can to make more money at the kids expense.

“When our children are away from home, we trust their health and safety to others,” said Martha Padilla, a Carpentersville District 300 parent.  “It is important to parents that companies like Aramark act responsibly:  our children are the ones that eat the food that Aramark serves; our community needs good jobs that allow us to raise our families; and we are the taxpayers who pay the bills. We know that cutting corners on our children’s school lunches isn’t the right way to balance the budget.”

Parents, community organizations, and workers have increasingly questioned nutrition and sanitary conditions in area schools since last fall when janitors and food service workers from suburban schools around – the area including Lake Zurich, Carpentersville, Orland Park, Dixmoor and Dolton – began raising concerns about the quality of services provided by Aramark to school districts.

These worries over nutrition and cleanliness in our schools are particularly troubling at a time when obesity and illness are growing threats to our kids.

“Every student in Illinois is required to go to school, and we have a responsibility to provide them a safe and healthy learning environment,” Mark Bishop, Deputy Director of the Healthy Schools Campaign, testified at Saturday’s hearing.  “This becomes particularly important in a time where rates of asthma and obesity have become crisis in our communities.”

Asthma is the leading cause of school absences due to a chronic illness, with nearly 20 percent of children being diagnosed with asthma, and more than 25 percent of Illinois children are overweight or obese, Bishop said.

School service workers are doing their best to make things better, but without a voice in the process, they face steep obstacles in bringing about change.  School service workers who provide cleaning, food preparation and other services to Chicagoland schools are working to form a union with SEIU Local 1 to be able to raise their concerns without fear of being fired or disciplined and to improve working conditions, end poverty level wages, and win access to quality, affordable health insurance.  

“Parents should be able to send their kids to school without worrying about whether the food their kids will eat is healthy or the classrooms are clean,” said James Thindwa, Executive Director of Chicago Jobs with Justice, a coalition of labor, religious, student and community organizations committed to improving the lives of working people and the communities they live in.  “Everyone in the community should be worried about Aramark’s ability to provide our kids with clean and healthy schools.”