New York City asylum seekers are rejecting the free meals provided at shelters, deeming them "bad," with some choosing to discard them and cook in their rooms instead.
The revelation follows the recent disclosure that thousands of taxpayer-funded meals for asylum seekers are wasted daily, the N.Y. Post reported.
DocGo, awarded a $432 million no-bid contract for migrant services, receives up to $33 per day per asylum seeker.
Internal records revealed that a company serving meals to migrants in the city discarded over 70,000 meals between October 22 and November 22. The discarded food during this period would cost taxpayers approximately $776,000.
Jesus Alberto, a 31-year-old migrant from Venezuela, stated, “Without lying, it’s bad, bad.” Meals at the Big Apple’s Roosevelt Hotel mega shelter include pancakes and quecas (tortillas) for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and dinners including chicken alfredo and chicken with spaghetti.
Johana Roa, a 23-year-old migrant mom, described the breakfast as too sweet for her daughter. She noted, “Nothing healthy apart from eggs and fruit, apples and oranges. No oats.” Roa admitted to using a rice cooker in her room to prepare meals.
Victor Herrera, 29, explained, “There is a lot of food left over because people eat in their rooms.” Many prefer buying food on the street due to better taste and variety.
Migrants were observed by the N.Y. Post bringing groceries into the Roosevelt, including strollers loaded with Cheerios, Cornflakes, chips, bread, and pasta.
Alexandra Salas, a mother at the Roosevelt for seven months, mentioned the cold breakfast and lunch as unfit for consumption. “The breakfast and lunch are so cold we can’t eat it, so it gets thrown in the trash,” she said.
City Hall responded to The Post's inquiry about migrant complaints, stating, “We take the health and safety of migrants in our care very seriously, and that includes providing them with proper nutritional meals.”
The Department of Housing Preservation and Development claimed a 93% migrant meal consumption rate, contradicting internal logs from DocGo.
A DocGo spokesperson mentioned, “The cost of all meals is passed through directly to the City without any markup, and the majority of the meals are procured through nonprofits, minority- and woman-owned caterers, and other small businesses.”
Despite criticisms, the city is committed to adjusting food orders to enhance “quality, quantity, and address cultural preferences while being responsible stewards of public resources.”
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.