Metro board members ate a more austere lunch than usual Thursday, their first meeting after The Washington Examiner reported on their previous menu offerings of red snapper, prime rib and salmon. Twelve members of the 14-person board of directors were served “half” sandwiches, salad, chips, soda and water from the Corner Bakery during an executive session Thursday, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said. They also had 24 “small” cookies from Harris Teeter, purchased for $7.98 before tax.
The total bill was about $112. That comes to just over $9 per person, far less than the $20.43 per person the board averaged over 18 months.
The change comes after The Examiner reported on Oct. 2 that the board had spent more than $13,000 on lunches during its meetings.
The board meets at least twice a month to run the transit agency and typically has had a hot lunch during “executive sessions” that are closed to the public. One frequent menu featured “Moroccan kabobs” of marinated beef tenderloin, seasoned chicken, spice-rubbed salmon served with jasmine-scented rice, steamed broccoli, Caesar salad, a bread board and cookies.
In 2006, after a Washington Post article about the board’s hot lunches, the transit agency promised to get cold sandwiches from D.C. Central Kitchen, a nonprofit caterer that gives job training to homeless people. But the board switched back to hot meals from a traditional caterer months later. – Kytja Weir
