Disturbing violations in NYC school cafeterias

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State Sen. Jeff Klein compiled a report highlighting what he called "stomach-churning stories of really bad conditions."

If you heard of a restaurant with reports of mice, flies, roaches, and people serving your food with no place to wash their hands you probably wouldn't eat there, right? Children at New York City public schools don't have a choice because it is happening inside their own cafeterias.

State Sen. Jeff Klein compiled a report highlighting what he called "stomach-churning stories of really bad conditions." The report, titled "School Lunch Flunks," reveals what inspectors found during a three-year investigation of New York public school cafeterias. This year alone, they turned up more than 8,000 health code violations at the city's 2,976 school cafeterias.

Klein said that in one case inspectors found 400 mouse droppings at a school. At another, the inspection turned up 130 flies. That is why Klein wants to see letter grades at school cafeterias just like at city restaurants.

"We are dedicated to providing students with nutritious meals in cafeterias that are clean and safe, and will work with the Department of Health to make the reports more easily accessible to the public," a Department of Education spokesperson said in a statement.