Rats, Mice, Bugs, Oh My! Find NYC's Filthiest School Cafeterias

NEW YORK CITY — Rats and mice and filth flies, oh my! New York City's school cafeterias are a sty.

Hundreds of public and private school cafeterias had filthy conditions found by city health inspectors during the 2022-2023 year, data shows.

As the city's school year ends Tuesday, Patch decided to give students and parents more than a few creepy crawly reasons to be happy for summer break.

• New Yorkers can search for their school cafeteria in this dataset showing current Department of Health and Mental Hygiene inspection data.

Before public school parents barf up their lunches, city health officials offered some reassurance.

No public school cafeterias needed to be closed during the 2022-2023 year, a health department spokesperson told Patch.

"The Health Department conducts routine inspections of NYC Public Schools, and it is rare that we observe conditions creating a health risk such that the Department will require the cafeteria to close," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Likewise, a city schools spokesperson told Patch that any pest issues discovered in cafeteria inspections are promptly addressed.

"Almost all violations are non-food related, and all violations are taken extremely seriously and immediately addressed," said Jenna Lyle, the spokesperson, in a statement.

Patch's review of Department of Health and Mental Hygiene inspection data for school cafeterias does show that most violations aren't related to food.

And perhaps surprising for the city of Pizza Rat and a dedicated rat czar, rats only squeaked onto the violation lists at a handful of locations.

Instead, the city's mice found cafeterias really nice, according to data.

Here's a map of where rodents (mostly mice) were found scurrying near school lunches, followed by a list of schools.