School lunch is a variety of things offered to students during the middle of the day to eat, relax, and socialize with classmates. Though a lot of people eat school lunches, a small group of people resign themselves from eating the lunch that the school provides- except for the wide array who do eat school lunches and choose from the many options offered at Pentucket.
The options that Pentucket offers are the main course for the day, otherwise known as the hot lunch. As well as salads, pizza, burgers, and last but not least, the chicken patties. The infamous school chicken patty, a pillar of cafeteria cuisine that has been consumed by many students. An everyday luxury for the students who enjoy eating it and a question about how it’s made for the skeptics.
In a survey that was made by me, twenty-three individuals voted on whether or not they do eat school lunch. Nineteen students voted yes, leaving four students who did not. Moreover, the students answered this follow-up question stating: “Do you eat chicken patties?” which was almost a split vote with thirteen of the students voting yes, and 10 students voting no. But out of all the survey questions, the most astonishing results are from the question: “Do you understand how chicken patties are made?”
Summing up out of the twenty-three people, seventeen did not in fact understand how the patties are made. Except for the six that do, some of them had some things to say. One individual’s response stated that “If they’re giving [chicken patties] out, it must be [food and nutrition service] FNS approved or at least barely getting by the legal standards.”
Another student named Brody Eaton said, “It was upsetting, to say the least [to learn of this news].”
To simplify, it starts with a mixture of questionable ingredients, including mechanically deboned chicken, which is just a fancy term for a paste-like mix derived from chicken bones and other unrecognizable parts. Then, it is mixed with a variety of preservatives, fillers, and seasonings, all directed at trying to prolong shelf life and disguising the patty’s flavor. The resulting mixture is then shaped into patties, frozen, and shipped off to schools nationwide.
Here is a more detailed list of ingredients that are commonly used in making school chicken patties:
- Mechanically deboned chicken
- Preservatives (such as sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate)
- Fillers (such as breadcrumbs and cornstarch)
- Seasonings (such as salt, pepper, and paprika)
- Vegetable oil
Though the deep dive into the making of the chicken is questionable, the inhumane way that some of the patties are made is distressing. Numerous companies that supply these chicken patties have a certain process. They first have newly born chicks, just hatched, tossed onto a conveyor belt, to then have their feathers plucked off and tossed straight into a blender. Quick and easy.
The factory workers of these companies will also walk on the chicks if they are on the ground without a care. In some videos that can easily be found on the internet, you can see the chicks getting crushed and hear them wailing in pain.
But the tragedy of these patties doesn’t end there. When the patties reach the school, they are usually cooked in a deep fryer, submerged in a vat of hot oil that’s often reused multiple times. This method not only adds a greasy layer to the patty but also helps keep the unsettling ingredients and preservatives together, making them even harder to digest.
Next, the moment of truth, eating the patty itself. A dry, tasteless disk, often served on a stale bun with a few hard-crusted crumbs and if you want, a spicy version which isn’t any better. It’s a meal that is both unappealing and unhealthy–a culinary work that can leave even the toughest student feeling uneasy.
One student from Pentucket named Haven Cahill shared, “I currently don’t eat [school] lunch due to the pure disgust I get from eating the food at this school. The chicken is way too hard and dry and honestly, I think it would be a better frisbee than something I would put in my mouth.”
So, instead of eating a chicken patty, what should a student do? The solution is straightforward, steer clear of the school chicken patty. Instead, pick a healthier option that’s more nutritious, like a salad or a sandwich. Your taste buds and stomach will be grateful.
In the end, the school chicken patty is a culinary abomination that should be avoided at all costs. With its very questionable ingredients and cooking methods, and the unfulfilling and quite unappetizing taste, the chicken patty is a meal that is best left uneaten. Instead, opt for bringing your own lunch if you can, or choose more wholesome options that will nourish your body like a salad and leave lunch satisfied.
P.S. The cafeteria staff are amazing people who dedicate their time to making food for students. This is solely about how chicken patties are made!
