1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:06,080 Speaker 1: Overheated, late bland, beige, melted, plastic covered food. We've heard 2 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 1: all the headlines about the school lunch program, and now 3 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:10,639 Speaker 1: we hear the major school lunch provider, La Belle, has 4 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: been placed into liquidation. The Belle has contracted to deliver 5 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,439 Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty five thousand meals a day. This 6 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 1: responsibility will now fall on Compass, who are the only 7 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: other school lunch provider. They're also helping out La Belle 8 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: with their liquidation and their workers. It's a good only 9 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:29,479 Speaker 1: Compass A Katol Intermediate Principal Phil Palfrey was on the 10 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: working committee to set up the lunch program and he 11 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: joins me, now, good morning to your film. 12 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:35,559 Speaker 2: Good morning, how are you? 13 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:37,879 Speaker 1: I'm good. How worried should we be about this liquidation? 14 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 2: Well, I don't know. For me, it just seems to 15 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 2: be a one aspect that just shows how bad the 16 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:53,479 Speaker 2: whole thing was. It just shows that well. In fact, 17 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 2: we interviewed LaBelle about when the program first began, when 18 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 2: a doing a government brought it in, and we just 19 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 2: felt that they went up to the scratch, up to 20 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:10,679 Speaker 2: scratch then and we appointed at that time we were 21 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:13,319 Speaker 2: allowed to appoint our own provider, and we appointed a 22 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 2: local person who ended up doing it for us for 23 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 2: the for all the time until last year when they 24 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 2: were cut and they did a fantastic job, and when 25 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 2: you've heard from the Bell again, until this whole new 26 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 2: arrangement began, and you know, we didn't really know them 27 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 2: that well, it just didn't work. It hasn't worked. 28 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 1: I didn't going forward with what we have. It seems 29 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: to me that you think the Bell was the company 30 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: causing problem. So the question we now have we're talking 31 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: about lunches next week, is can Compass meet the demand 32 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:45,559 Speaker 1: on its own. 33 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 2: I have no idea. I have no idea. I don't 34 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,800 Speaker 2: really have great faith in it, and I just well, 35 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 2: my only wishes that would just go back to what 36 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 2: it was before. It apparently is a saving at one 37 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 2: hundred of dollars, but I don't know if that's We 38 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 2: don't know if that's going to work out to be 39 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 2: that saving in the first place. But I do know 40 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 2: that three dollars a meal is just ridiculous and it 41 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 2: hasn't worked, and I just would love to go back 42 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 2: to the old system, and I think our country should 43 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 2: afford it and could afford it. 44 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: You were on the working committee that set up the 45 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 1: lunch program in the first place. So are you just 46 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: resistant to change? 47 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:30,640 Speaker 2: Oh no, I'm not. I'm an older principle, but I'm 48 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 2: not resistant to change. I was assured that the program 49 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 2: would be very similar to what we have now, so 50 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 2: I was prepared to see how it panned out. But 51 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,959 Speaker 2: right from the very start, I saw the quality of 52 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 2: the food and I saw the reaction from my students 53 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 2: and my kids. Are We're a load des sool low 54 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:57,799 Speaker 2: equity school, a high equity school, and our kids need 55 00:02:57,840 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 2: the food. There's no doubt about that, but they just 56 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 2: I just haven't two of them don't like it actually, 57 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 2: And yeah, that's just a good program. 58 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: Phil, thank you so much for getting up early for us. 59 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: Phil is the Cotel Intermediate Principle up North and was 60 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: on the program that set up the lunches in the 61 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: first place back in the day. 62 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 2: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live 63 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 2: to News Talks it'd be from five am weekdays, or 64 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 2: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.