PHOTOS: School Food Facility Covered in Rodent Waste

An investigation of school food stored at a Town Farm Road facility found a bag of rice chewed up by rodents, a box of peas dated 2008, and evidence of bird droppings.

The findings led the Board of Health to take extraordinary measures Monday, including ordering the food to be discarded and the facility shuttered for storage.

Board of Health Chairman Zac Cataldo called some of the findings "egregious."

The investigation, conducted by the town health department, included photos revealing rodent droppings, improper food storage, and problems with the facility's ventilation, among other things.

The facility, commonly called the "barn," stored only a fraction of the food used in schools, which have their own food storage areas. Excess food that can't fit in the school areas has been stored at the Town Farm facility for about the last 30 years, Cataldo said.

The town's health department began investigating the facility after dozens of Blanchard Middle School students missed school with a sickness earlier this month. No connection was made to the sickness and the food at the Town Farm facility, Cataldo said.

Regardless, Cataldo said the investigation revealed huge problems.

"This isn't how you store food," he said.

It was unclear how much the discarded food cost. In addition to food like peas, frozen orange juice, and ground beef, the facility housed lunch trays and utensils. All will be tossed out.

Superintendent Bill Olsen did not immediately return a phone message.