120 Rich NYC Parents Of The World School Held A Quinoa Crisis Assembly

When Avenues: The World School in Chelsea was still being constructed, I remember rolling my eyes over parents vying for spots at the prestigious institution that didn’t even have desks yet. Later, Suri Cruise seemed to have no trouble cutting the line after her parents’ seemingly sudden divorce. But now that The World School has been up and running for a year, we see that aside from multilingual and international education, the institution also prioritizes 25-page PowerPoint presentations on school nutrition.

In The New York Times Magazine‘s investigative look at The World School, we’re treated to a scene worthy of an Amy Sohn novel: parents –surely caricatures of parents — fussing over quinoa flour for their little ones:

Ever since the $85 million for-profit start-up opened its doors in September, food had been a divisive issue. After the first week of classes, a group of parents sent a seven-page e-mail detailing concerns: there were not enough snacks, not enough ”worldly” snacks like seaweed, zucchini bread with quinoa flour and bean quesadillas (so long as the beans came from BPA-free tin cans). Unlike other New York City private schools, with their decades of institutional wisdom, Avenues was founded on the premise that its parents were partners in building a new community. So it was ready to hear them out.

In the black-box theater, Avenues’ chief administrative officer helped assure parents that their kids’ diet was sufficiently organic, local and healthful. The regional director of its food-service contractor was on hand to address any fears about carbohydrates. A doctor from Mount Sinai Hospital was ready to answer questions about allergies. A 25-page PowerPoint was presented.

Considering that these parents are shelling out $43,000 a year, I’m surprised these kiddies aren’t having that quinoa flour freshly ground from the school’s all organic garden. Prepared in BPA-free kitchens, of course.

(photo: Brooke Becker / Shutterstock)