Dad goes viral after posting photo of son's 'paltry' school meal

An upstate New York father have gone viral after posting his son's scant school lunch.

Christopher Vangellow, the father in question, has children who go to class in the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District. He recently took to his Facebook to share a photo of the sad-looking meal.

It appeared to have off-coloured baby carrots, a small portion of white rice, and four meager chicken nuggets on the tray.

"They have been complaining that since the lunches are now free for everyone, the portions have dropped. Don't come at me with the 'you get what you pay for' or 'just send them with food' crap either," Vangellow wrote in the post.

"Yeah, we can do that and sometimes the kids do choose to bring something from home or will buy extra lunch to get more in them to get them through a day. The problem is that not all families can do that."

"Yeah, we can do that and sometimes the kids do choose to bring something from home or will buy extra lunch to get more in them to get them through a day. The problem is that not all families can do that."Christopher Vangellow/Facebook

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Speaking with Indy100, Vangellow said that the food is "not enough to get a growing child through a day".

"Something has to be able to be done to make things better for them."

People took to the comments of Vangellow's post to voice how appalled they were at the portions of food.

"Omg, that is appalling. I thought lunches were bad when my girls were in school," someone wrote.

"It's so sad; they've sent me pics of worse than this even. I genuinely remember filling portions of decent food when I went. (And relied on it) I often send them with extra food when I bring them, but I legit cry for the families who aren't able to do that…," another added.

A third wrote: "Yikes. Healthy food is fuel. Not so much this kind."

Amid the backlash, Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District Superintendent William Collins wrote a statement and said that he and the cafeteria manager are creating a new group called "Reimagining School Lunches" to address the concerns.

"In fairness to the cafeteria, students are allowed one more serving of fruits or vegetables and one additional nugget than appeared in the photograph; however, this doesn't alter the message that many students and parents are dissatisfied with school lunches... In addition to the Cafeteria Manager and me, this working group will be made up of concerned students (4) and parents (4) along with a representative from the Wellness Committee," Collins wrote on the district's website.