Urban schools plot demise of the spork

An alliance of six major urban school districts has reportedly decided to replace the venerable spork in their cafeterias with knives, forks and spoons made with compostable materials.

The move by the Urban School Food Alliance follows the group’s decision earlier this year to replace polystyrene cafeteria trays with round, compostable plates. A year ago, the group alerted poultry suppliers that it would only buy their chicken if it was anti-biotic free and came from birds that were raised in humane conditions.

The Alliance consists of the foodservice operations for the school districts of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Dallas and Orlando, Fla., the largest in the nation. The operations pool their purchasing to exert leverage on suppliers and to drive down the price of sustainable products, which are often costlier than standard versions.

Together, they feed an estimated 2.8 children per day in 4,500 schools.

The spork—a utensil that combines the rounded bowl of a spoon with the tines of a fork—has become an icon of school foodservice. Alliance chief Eric Goldstein explained to the Washington Post that the utensil has become the staple of schools because of the price, even though it runs squarely contrary to efforts to teach children how to use knives and forks.

Related:Largest school districts to go with antibiotic-free chicken