Surprised cafeteria employees at the White House Mess, which serves breakfast and lunch to Executive staff, were instructed to remove “blackberries” from the weekly food order placed with distributors. The offending berries were apparently flagged inadvertently by an overzealous or insufficiently attentive staffer in the White House Management Office.
A White House spokesperson confirmed the error and stated that the full selection of berries would be restored as soon as practicable, and that new procedures would be added to ensure that other menu items containing potential DEI trigger words, such as the mixed green salad or rainbow bagels, will remain available.