I’m sure by now you’ve all heard the story about the Salt Lake school that turned kids away at the lunch line for having past due lunch accounts. Or in some cases, threw their lunches out after already dishing them out and then realizing they had lack of funds. The school maintains that they had notified some of the parents of the delinquent accounts. Still, some of the students felt humiliated by the removal/lack of their lunch. And, well, you already know how I feel about food waste, so having to throw out the food kind of makes me sick.
Kids should not go hungry. No matter what. And my husband had reduced lunches as a kid, so I know how much some of the kids rely on school lunch as a staple meal. But the bottom line is someone has to pay for the food.
Without over-recapping, pop over, read the details. I really want to know what you think. Was it fair for the school district to throw out the kids lunch and hand them an apple and a carton of milk? Or should they have handled it another way? And if so, HOW should they have handled it?
~Mavis
Peggy Stenglein says
Well, first, don’t punish the kid for something out of their control. Second, find out why the parents haven’t paid for lunch, and was it an error or negligence of the schools part? I had my own nightmare with our school debiting my kids accounts BEFORE they even hit the cafeteria, I had to have a meeting with the school district head of finance guy to straighten it out, luckily, I had proof that my kids packed lunches on most days and should have never been charged! They tried to tell me I owed a ton of money, I was able to prove that we were overcharged by about $162.00. No joke. So, they have to be certain an error wasn’t made. Maybe they forgot or the money didn’t get turned in? Maybe they need help with lunches? And these cafeteria workers need to learn how to be nice! After our debacle over our school lunches, I wanted to see what was going on up there, so I would bring a hot lunch I made up to my two daughters once a week and eat lunch with them…you learn a lot about the cafeteria and school staff when you sit and eat lunch with your kids. Letting a kid go without lunch is not okay, embarassing them in front of the student body is not okay, and throwing out that food is not okay.
Peggy Stenglein says
Oh, the $162 was over a period of about 3 years. I would always get notices saying I owed money and usually sent a check thinking I messed up, until I started writing down the days they bought/packed and it didn’t add up. I was able to get a printout of all lunch charges which also listed the times the charges were made…before my kids lunch time!
Jillbert says
Unbelievable! I can’t believe they took the food and tossed it in the trash! Those kids had to make it through the rest of the day hungry. How can a hungry child learn (or behave)? Currently, at my child’s elementary school, kids with no money in their account get fruit, milk, and a cheese sandwich. Our old principal had a “cheese sandwich fund” that covered the cost of a full lunch for a kid with no money in their account so they did not have to eat the lunch of shame. The money in the fund came from donations from parents who also felt the cheese sandwich lunch was stigmatizing. It is cruel to punish a child (and withholding food IS punishment) for something they have no control over.
Bible Babe says
It’s not the child’s fault if the adults aren’t taking care of paying for things. By doing what they did, the school embarrassed the kids, and childhood is hard enough these days. Plus the waste of the food was criminal on the part of the school.
RebekahU says
I feel like the kids should be fed whether or not their accounts are behind. There are a lot of families in America today struggling to make it. Those families may not qualify for free or reduced lunch, but that does not mean their family has money over-flowing either. My mother worked in a school cafeteria for three years. According to her experiences, you would not believe the amount of food that is thrown away daily. Because of a law, the food could not be taken home by workers, OR given to a food bank. It was just tossed in the dumpster. So, feed the kids!!!! It will reduce the amount that will be tossed!
Aliea says
We know of exactly the same instances – even sealed (and not expired) jello, milks, etc. can’t be kept from the trash bin once they’re passed out. These containers see less handling than supermarkets, but are not allowed to be saved. The system is so mangled with red tape and the officials refuse to even admit the system is flawed. We all know of the Jamie Oliver vs. CA lunch program. We fix our daughter much healthier and mostly local food at a fraction of the cafeteria’s prices. While not all parents can/will do this, it does show there’s something wrong with quality, cost, and waste in our schools’ food programs. And I think the person that decided to REMOVE food from the children’s hands (and all the “adults” that complied) should themselves be removed from all school systems, indefinitely. Criminal.
Lorrie says
I think that since they were going to throw the food away anyway they should have fed the kids. Either way they were out the money of the food. I also would have sent home another note to the parents giving them until the end of the week to pay the account. If not, next week the kids would have to bring their lunches from home. Maybe the parents needed another paycheck to pay the bill. At my sons school, they can buy the sandwich option if they are out of funds until the parents send in more money. There is not any reason to embarrass the kids like that.
Allison says
The food definitely should not have been thrown out! And, in my elementary school, there was no note sent home for a while with the kids. A HAND STAMP was placed on the back of the hand by the cafeteria worker. And we all know how many times the kids have to wash their hands before they arrive home. And in my kids’ cases, they went to day care after school and washed their hands some more. And then they bathe themselves and wash it off more! It would be several days before I realized the hand was stamped sometimes! I would have been TOO angry if my child’s food had been snatched and thrown away. Too angry.
Barbee says
I was going to comment and then I saw that Lorrie had already said all I was thinking.
Especially that waste part. If it was about the money-they are out either way.
The tossed food makes it sound more like spite than concern over money.
Ruth Ward says
Wouldn’t the child having to accept the sandwich option, be easily pegged by the other students as in arrears? I agree, if they’re going to throw out the food anyway, why not just give it to those that can not afford to pay. Afterall, for many of these children this may be the only real meal that they will get.
Becky M. says
I’m from Utah, and this has been all over the news and radio shows. From what I understand even some of the accounts that were in good standing didn’t get their lunches. I definitely don’t think the garbage should have been given all that food! If it was dished out, the right thing to do would have been to give these kids their lunches and then have them taken aside after lunch or during class and phone the parents, not humiliate them in front of their classmates.
When we were struggling a few years back, my daughter had free and reduced lunches, which was a lifesaver for us. Everyone has different circumstances.
I heard one man on the radio who is from a different school in Utah say that they start at the head of the line and make sure the kids have money in their account BEFORE they ever get served. Those who don’t can choose to take the “snack” (fruit and milk) or wait until the other students have been served and have lunch served from what is left. He said there is always enough extra food for them to eat at the end of lunch. Others have suggested that they set up a fund (via PTA or private donations) to pay for delinquent lunches so no one goes hungry. There is always a better way than what they have done. It makes me sad that this had to happen at all, and they need to have things like this in place beforehand!
Martha says
I have to comment on this. I had free lunches most of my schooling years and I can’t tell you how humiliating it is as a child to have free lunches. When I was in high school, we had a special Thanksgiving lunch and one teacher stood at the front of the line and made us wave our dollars in the air (yes, lunches were only $1.00 at that time! LOL) and if you didn’t have one, he loudly announced it to everyone and made that person get out of line. Well, my stomach was churning and I was in such distress because my turn was coming and I didn’t even have a dollar to PRETEND I could pay! Sure enough, my turn came and he blasted me in front of the entire school! I had to tell him that I had a free lunch and of course everyone around me heard. No matter how things are handled, it seems it will always be humiliating for the child. 🙁
Lindsay says
My kids are on reduced lunches this year. Since my daughter is in 1st grade, her lunch is free. I still send them to school with cold lunch and drink at least twice a week because I don’t want them eating school lunch every day. One time I did not have any juice to send so I told my daughter to get a milk from school. She was denied because she did not have any funds on her lunch card. I called and was told that her lunch was free but her milk was not and one way to avoid that was to have her get a lunch and only drink the milk. Now why on earth would I do that and waist the food? They did appologize and said that she should never been denied milk. In the case of the lunch accounts, my kids’ school will call me if my son is behind. They always call the parents and make arrangments for payments but never let the kid go hungry. That’s just sad and shame on that school.
darlene says
Aw, I think it’s sad. We grew up very poor and you try to stay under the radar about that as much as possible so as not to be different. I’m sure those kids were very embarassed! They will have enough struggles in life, do they really need this? Seems like the adults should find a way to take care of it (school and parents) and it should never trickle down to the kiddos 🙁
sue thomson says
why are we taking this out on the kids, FEED THEM. is it their fault that their parents can pay. this maybe the only good meal they get all day. if the school need the money that bad sue the parents but NEVER,NEVER,NEVER let children go hungery. our land of plenty should never hold back ffod from our children.
julie says
Amen.
Jenn says
I’m just disgusted by the whole thing. The cafeteria workers handled it wrong from the start. You should never, ever humiliate a child the way that those poor children were. They should have sent a note home with the kids or had the principle call the parents and those kids should have gotten to eat their lunch weather or not they could pay for it or not.
sindy says
I don’t know about you but when I was in school the lunch ladies were sooooo mean and crabby. I can see how this happened.
I feel bad for the kids because most of them don’t have a clue about the reality of money. The parents need to take responsiblity and contact the schools when they get a notifications. It is not the childs fault. How tramatic for those kids that had the lunch taken from them and then thrown away. It is really just nonsense.
Cecily says
I feel all children should be provided with a school lunch regardless of their parents financial situation. I feel the same about health care. These children are the future! They should be provided for! If my taxes have to go up to provide a hot meal and basic health care then so be it. Even if I didn’t have children I’d feel the same way.
kcb says
I taught elementary school for 30+ years. When I read stories like this & others, I wonder where people left their common sense. At the school where I worked, a child would never go hungry. If a lunch ticket expired, they child would still eat. If parents needed help w/paperwork for free/reduced meals, it was provided. There was a fund in the PTO’s budget to help when emergencies arose. Bottom line is, you just do not involve the student & you make sure the student gets a lunch (or breakfast).
Wynne says
Hear, hear.
Michele says
Feed the kids. Its super sad they tossed it out because accounts were behind. However, there are some parents taking advantage of this issue and will not pay if they know the school won’t deny a lunch. Then the school lose funds that are taken from other parts of the school then more grumbling from parents on that issue. First of all, pack your kids lunch, or follow the lunch card cash balance like you do a checkbook, or get on free lunch. Assure you do all you can to make sure your kid eats.
As for the food being tossed out and taken away from the children…surely there was another way to handle that but since we dont knot the full details, its hard to say the school didn’t try all they could and were left with no other choices but to make a bad decision to take food away. All in all…no matter what, a child went without food for both the school and parent failing.
LS says
If we’re going to pay taxes, then those monies should go to HELP people before they go towards harming them (military/weapons). What happened there is inexcusable and if the school could afford to throw the food away, then they could afford to GIVE it away to those in need. The idea that “someone has to pay” is a weird justification of any behaviour that punishes kids with food/lack of food. When we take food and education away from children, EVERYONE PAYS.
Christina says
Thanks LS,
Perfectly said.
marcia says
My kids were on the free governent lunch program. This doesn’t subsidize the rest of the kids. All kids who pay should be served first because food can run out and has. This is hard because of feeding kids in shifts! Our schools keep a loaf of bread and peanut butter for this problem and they get a milk AND a note sent HOME!!! Easy. I was a cashier for 5 years in a school. ALL kids PAY first, then get food. They are then taken care of. NO embarassment. Fire the cashier that is NOT doing the job right, 3 years of not paying is stupidt!!! OR change the policies because clearly something is seriously wrong.
Jill Frank says
Our school is largely on the poor side. Over 60% are on free or reduced lunch. We have a social worker that helps families get connected with all kinds of programs/services. Thankfully, this helps with delinquent accounts. Every time our lunch accounts run out, we get a letter from the school the very next day saying how much we owe. Children are never deprived food – no one else knows if they have money in their accounts or not. If there is no money in the account, they are not allowed any extras like chips or ice cream (which I only allow once a week for my kids anyways and would be just fine if they didn’t offer it in the first place). The lunch staff are pretty good at minimizing waste each day. By the time the last class or two roll through, one of the options may be out. Which is not to say there isn’t enough food to eat, just not of that option. I know the PTA sometimes picks up the largely overdue accounts, but because of the social worker, there are not many of those. Our school also serves breakfast, same rules apply. Ultimately, I also understand that someone has to pay but I don’t have many solutions to offer.
nishchick says
The school needs to get off their behinds and fund raise for the children whose parents at the end of the year had dilinquent accounts. NO child should be humiliated or go without food. Shame on that school!
Leia says
Utah, the state where government employees get bonus money paid for by the taxpayer but old people die in their homes without electricity, the attorney general is a criminal and children go unfed. I have lived in this state for 8 years and I hate it more every passing day.
I am glad that I choose to home school my children.
But, the whole world is becoming like this. I was a seasonal worker at Williams Sonoma, for the 40% discount , and they required us to break items to pieces if something was damaged from a set or expired. Their reasoning was that by doing this no one could pull it from the dumpster. So sad and so greedy. Thankfully I only worked there during the Christmas season and now I won’t even shop at that store.
Sue says
Our elementary school PTO gives the cafeteria money to cover the unpaid lunches so there will not be a deficit. This school serves breakfast and lunch. PTO’s do good things for schools. I sat on the board for 5 years years. With this economy, maybe PTO’s can commit money each year for the unpaid lunch accounts. Don’t make it a public announcement, just between the PTO Board, the cafeteria manager and principal so children can get a meal during school.
Most parents do not want their children to have a empty lunch account. Some parents forget to send a check, some parents don’t have the money until pay day, some parents missed the notice from the cafeteria in the pile of papers the child brought home that day. Leave the child out of it. Do you really think kids don’t know there is no extra money at home or the pantry is empty at home? Give children a break, school and society have enough pressures for them, let them have a meal in peace. it takes a village.
Studies have shown that children can not learn when they are hungery.
leslie@simplymusicwise.blogspot.com says
Everyone here has made good points: food waster is horrible, some people cheat the system, the schools need a better food system, laws need to be changed, the children come first. And there are many more issues. I am a substitute teacher in my district. Can I tell you, I have seen it all! It’s not only in Utah. It’s in our whole country. We need to get to work as a people to change each issue.
Cathy says
Please do no think that all people with financial problems take advantage of free lunch/services or if a lunch account is negative and the school still feeds them so why should they pay, not all people are like that.
There are greedy,” take advantage of the system” people of all economic levels. Saying all poor people take advantage of welfare, food stamps and unpaid lunches would be the same as saying that all wealthy people take advantage of tax loopholes and foreign bank accounts.
Living in the Country says
I think if you reproduce, you should be able to support your offspring. If you cannot, you should have a vasectomy or tubal ligation. You should not populate the planet with children that others will have to support just because you can.
Tracy says
That is true Living in the Country, however it’s not the children’s fault they are now here and hungry.
“Any society, any nation, is judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members — the last, the least, the littlest.”
~Cardinal Roger Mahony
Katie says
Living in the Country, give me a break. Circumstances change. What about the family I know who were in the 1% until the father was hit by a teenage drunk driver when he walked across a street. The medical debt wiped them out and the subsequent brain injury made it so he’ll never have meaningful work again. Have a little compassion for your fellow man.
ChrisM says
I am totally against them taking the meals away and throwing the food out! No child should be humiliated like that.
However, schools are there for education, not for feeding our kids free food. Most school systems are struggling financially right now. Low income families can sign up for free meals. Our school will even provide free meals for kids who don’t qualify if their parents can show financial need. If we want to have it so that we serve free meals to everyone, then we will be hit with some higher taxes.
Our school district uses an online system. My daughters swipe their cards and I can see online the food items they chose for lunch. I can also see the balance of each of their accounts. If an account is negative for too long, the kids are fed cold sandwich lunches.
If parents know they cannot pay for the lunches, then they need to contact the school, rather than just not pay their bills.
If an account is negative, a letter should be sent home with the child or mailed. If that doesn’t resolve it, then the parents should be called. After that, I don’t know what’s a fair policy for non-payment. I don’t think a child should go hungry and be humiliated, but the school shouldn’t have to hand out free lunches that they aren’t reimbursed for.
By the way, I volunteered a lot at my kids’ schools and the parents who always had a negative account were the ones driving the Hummers, Mercedes, and wearing “The North Face” gear while sporting Coach bags. Another problem was divorced parents who would both complain that it was the OTHER parent who was supposed to pay. Most of the low-income kids signed up for free lunches or packed their lunches. You can pack a lot of good healthy things in a cold lunch and still save a ton of money over school lunches.
Ruth Ward says
Why not call the parents first, then send a letter warning them that the lunches will be stopped if not brought up to date or something done to bring it up to date. And sent the letter certified mail, which requires a signature upon receiving the letter. That way, they can’t say they didn’t get it. I know, certified mail is extra in cost, but you must build a case, when proving that someone is in arrears and has been duly notified.
TracyDelfelJohnson says
Easy. FEED ALL THE STUDENTS. Past due accounts should never be discussed with the child. That issue is between the parents and the school only. Kids have enough trouble trying to learn and fit in anyway without having to also worry about whether they belong in the lunch line or not. If there is a shortfall and the school has trouble feeding the few that are past due on their accounts then that school as serious problems.
Lisa says
To give it to them, take it away, and throw it out was punitive. Children should not be made scapegoats. If the parents had been contacted, and didn’t respond, then the children should have been told they had no lunch money that day, but “here’s an apple and some milk.” No, it’s not enough to fuel them through the afternoon, but it’s better than nothing.
It would be embarrassing for the students. If they have reduced lunches it’s likely the other students don’t know. But, making a production of taking their meals away? That’s intolerable. I hear some schools give fruit, milk, and a sandwich. Well, why would a parent bother to apply for free or reduced lunches, or pay full price? That’s a full lunch in my neck of the woods! My kids don’t get better than that when they pack it themselves!
At my local school, the kids who forget their money, or the paperwork hasn’t been turned in, get a milk and an apple. If a volunteer parent (like me!) says she will pay for it, the workers won’t let her. Some parents just are lazy and won’t do the paperwork, others are too proud to accept a handout. They need to think of their kids first.
Melanie says
They should have been fed the food they were given that day it was the school systems mistake not the kids. But to give it to them and then take it away is cruel and embarrassing . Yes it is the parents fault for not sending money , our kids here get a peanut butter sandwich and milk when their accounts go late .
Deason Hunt says
In a few words, doing that (throwing out the meals and humiliating the kids) was cruel and unusual punishment.
Carolyn says
I’m sorry these are kids , maybe their parents can’t afford the lunches they have gotten expensive pay or not no child should have to go with out eating , you don’t know their situation that might be the only meal that they get that day.
Lizz says
I think a lot of people don’t realize that this school lunch maybe the only hot meal the kids have for the day. I helped start a free lunch program for the summers at my low income apartments, and that even, is the only thing some of these kids eat that day or other than dinner. Most people just can’t fathom that kind of struggle and it’s easier for them to sit back and say what the parent should be doing instead of just helping the kids. While some of the parents can take care of there bill, some just can’t. And are afraid to ask for help in fear of losing their kids. I just wanted to be part of the solution instead just another side to the problem.
Lizz says
Another thing I forgot to touch on, if a child was to come in to school and say my mom didn’t have anything to feed me for dinner last night the school would call children services in a heart beat. But it’s ok for them to not feed the kids or just hand them “an apple and a milk”? Why would that be ok? They are also then failing the child and letting him/her go hungry. It’s a messed up situation. I know most schools have a PTA, couldn’t they help out in a situation where the child isn’t getting fed lunches? And yes letting the situation go for years is ridiculous, if a school is having a constant problem like this with so many kids clearly something is not working, something that should be getting taken care of is getting skipped over.
Buzz says
Hmm. I’ve read the npr article several times. I can’t find where it says the delinquent lunch accounts belonged to participants in subsidized lunch program. Because it says the parents were “delinquent” I assume they weren’t. Since when is a company supposed to give away its products just because someone is in need? Walmart isn’t expected to give away their merchandise because some customers are in poverty. The impoverished must pay for their purchases or go without, even if they bring the items to the checkout. The school notified parents of the low or negative balance. It was, therefore, the parents’ responsibility to pay or notify the school of a problem. Since the school had already served the food, the children could have been allowed to eat it, but the school should change their system to be certain it doesn’t happen again. Seems to me the parents need to accept some of the responsibility here and stop howling about injustices.
Leia says
It isn’t a company it is a tax payer funded school. My husband and I are in a high tax bracket and I am offended at such waste of my money. Although My children aren’t in a public school I still have to pay school taxes and I pay state and federal taxes and my tax dollars should never be cast in the garbage can. I have no issues with a hungry child being fed but I do take offense to feeding the local landfill.
Children don’t ask to be born and they can’t help if they are born to people that aren’t financially responsible.
We aren’t talking about someone that wants a luxury item that they can’t afford we are talking about a basic need.
Judy Simkins says
When I was in school there were no free lunch programs & I always had a sack lunch from home (aka ‘cold lunch’ back in the day). Back then THAT was embarrasment enough.- home made lunches…the shame. I coveted the hot lunches others were able to buy. Once in high school when my mom gave us each money for a hot lunch (a real treat & maybe just once a year) I got all the way to the cashier counting the coins over & over to make sure there was enough. After paying I was walking away with my tray when someone bumped me & spilled all the food on the floor. I went hungry that day & was too ashamed to ask for another lunch or to tell my mom when I got home. Reading all of these comments reminded me of the sting & shame that poverty can bring to a child. Feed the kids it’s not their fault. AND, let’s look for some NICE lunch ladies!
p.s. – I still re-count my coins to make sure I have enough even though I know I do.
Maryw says
I would want to know how top heavy the administrations are for these schools. Surely they can channel some cash into an emergency fund so no child goes hungry. What these people did was mean and shameful, and they should not be around kids. They need some serious remedial training on being decent human beings.
Carla says
The kids should have been fed especially since they already had the food and the alternative was to throw it out. That was ridiculous. On the same day this happened, I failed to send a lunch with my son to school. I misread the chart and thought he had hot lunch scheduled that day. He just didn’t get to eat but did call me and I brought him something a bit late so the teacher let him eat during class. Totally my fault. Another school here provides breakfast, lunch and a sack dinner for the jr. high kids which I think is pretty sad-where is the parental responsibility when that happens. On the flip side of that, I’m glad the kids get to eat. Another facet of this school is they have a school garden and a teacher that teaches how to cook the food grown in the garden for those who participate. Hopefully they will at least know how to feed their own kids and take responsibility for it..
Rebecca says
I think the PTA should have a fund for this. They should try to collect from parents, but they should never send a child away from the lunch room hungry. Throwing food away is shameful. That school needs to fire whoever gave the order to do that. They have no understanding or compassion for children.
Things happen, parents have late paychecks or an unexpected car repair. Many don’t understand how hard it is for many families living on the edge of poverty. Kids shouldn’t go hungry in this country. Ever.
Gina says
Just a little information from a school employee at a different district in a different state. School cafeterias are generally separate entities from the school and operate under their own set of rules and budgets. They do receive state and federal funding, but they are not totally part of the school. Schools should never deny a child a meal. Ever. Our school district has a police officer that delivers notices of delinquent accounts because there are so many. Elementary and middle school children are allowed to continue to eat lunch no matter what, they are not notified of the balances, only the parents are notified. High school students with overdrawn accounts over $10 still get a lunch, but it is the sandwich lunch that the cafeteria provides at a financial loss.
I understand what it is like, many of my students no longer qualify for free lunch due to a small raise their parents earned at work. These children (high school students) bring a lunch and store it in my classroom, and heat it at lunch time. Other students will bring a small pack of noodles or canned soup because that costs saves them money. I have filled lockers (we have access to their combinations) with nonperishable foods for students that cannot afford anything. Teachers in my building have worked together to provide Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. We provide gift baskets, Target gift cards, gift cards to grocery stores, and other small items to keep the children going.
It is true our jobs are to educate these children, preparing them work and college, but has anyone tried to focus on a book when they are hungry? Have you tried to maintain your temper when you missed the last three meals? Can you handle the stresses of being in a building of 2,000+ people when you are starving?
Throwing away food is wrong, not only because it wastes food, it’s wrong because it robs the children the opportunity to grow, learn, and to thrive.
Charly says
I was always taught to look for the win-win in any situation. For the Salt Lake school system, this was really a lose-lose. The school lost money by throwing away perfectly good food. The children lost out because they didn’t receive adequate nutrition. Their teachers and peers lost because hungry (an humiliated) children have a harder time paying attention and can be disruptive. And the school system lost because they’ve probably alienated those parents from involvement in that school for the rest of the year if not the rest of their child’s career.
The policy at every school that receives Federal funds should be to feed every child so they are prepared to learn. There are many ways schools can work with parents to see that funds are automatically added to the account (for forgetful moms like me). And it should NEVER be incumbent upon the child to bring home the message that their lunch bill needs to be paid. No child needs to be humiliated or worried about money. They should be worried about learning.
Elaina says
This subject infuriates me beyond belief…I know food handling laws and the constraints , I worked in catering… And will tell you I did look a blind eye many times because I hate food waste and know it should go to hungry people,,,, period… and it did. I would rather be fired and break laws than let a child go hungry… At some point, the light bulb has to go off and people have got to do the right thing. And yes, I volunteered many years in public school with many caring parents ,we even got a few complaints because of compliance issues, I feel for the teachers…
On a side note, I think it is an equal crime to serve kids rubber state approved food menus aka garbage” i.e. corndogs….but to deny them … we all know the system is in need of an overhaul…..
HollyG says
I think we should be doing what they do in some scandinavian countries. Just give breakfast and lunch to every child that would like some. No forms to fill out, no special colored tickets or lines for the “poor kids”. I work in a school and see the amount of time required to comply with all of the regulations and complete all of the paperwork. I think it might be cheaper in the long run to just make food available to all who want it. No child should go hungry, wether their parents can afford it or not.
Michelle says
I’ve worked twenty years in an inner city school. None of my students have ever been denied food because of money issues. In fact, we routinely give a bit extra to those we know need it. If a child is still genuinely hungry, the wonderful staff in our cafeteria will pass out the extras until everything that was cooked that day has been distributed. We lunch like a family—if Bobby doesn’t want his beans, it’s perfectly fine for Jamie to ask if she can have them. My kids routinely “sneak” their leftover fruit back for snack time and know it’s okay with me and every other adult. All of my students qualify for free lunch and in our school system breakfast is free for all children regardless of socio-economic levels. What was done to those children in the name of “following the rules’ is a travesty. If you don’t know when to break the rules and do the right thing, you have no business being around children.
Margery says
Our school policy is written out, once you are negative a letter is sent home, and you get a call from the school. Very handy with teens or young ones who eat more snacks than they are supposed to. If you are negative 5.00 dollars you do not get a regular lunch but you do get a peanut butter or cheese sandwich, milk and fruit. They also have a social worker who will help figure out the problem.
KC says
That seems really sensible. (as someone whose mom packed super-healthy lunches, if I could have tossed them in the trash and gotten in line for pizza/chicken-nuggets/mac&cheese, I probably would have. So I recognize there may be a health/waste issue if all kids *can* get a free lunch of their choosing but the parents assume they’re eating their healthier packed-from-home lunches like they’re supposed to.)(my mom, when *she* was growing up, always tried to trade her (leftover roast meat sandwich) lunches for lunches with the forbidden bologna, which I find hilarious given her current stance on Bologna is Not a Food.)
But throwing out the food after the kids have gotten it is definitely not a good response, with the possible remote exception of habitual and well-known “toss the sack lunch in the trash, then get in line” kids – in that case, “you threw out your lunch, you go hungry” seems like a reasonable consequence to enforce at some point, although I’d still want to see a warning and/or parental notification there before the kid’s lunch gets thrown out.
chris says
I’m going to go out on a limb here and ask why the gov. doesn’t get out of the schools, lower the taxes and have everyone go back to feeding their own kids? Or raise the taxes and have lunch provided free, already covered in taxes, for all the students…
MaryE says
At our elementary school the children order their lunch or milk as soon as they get to school each morning. I never thought much about it, but this gives the school hours to solve any problems with accounts before lunch. All of the mistakes in Utah were caused by adults, and should have been solved by adults. The cafeteria staff were poorly trained and parents did not take responsibility for making sure their own children would be fed at school. We have been in 3 different school districts, and all them provided free online accounts where we could track our children’s accounts daily. Our current school district allows us to set up email alerts for when the accounts reach a level of our own choosing. The children in Utah should have been fed, and the parents called personally to address the accounts or sign up for free lunch.
LoraC says
As much as it costs to administer the reduced / no cost lunch program we could really pay for every kid’s lunch (and breakfast) for not a lot more. I’m not a fan of big government or entitlements, but this just seems to make sense. Our kids often receive (for many reasons) a crappy education and as parents we are legally forced to send our kids to these mediocre and sometimes unsafe schools. I think including breakfast and lunch for EVERY kid is within our means. God knows we spend on some ridiculous things. Shrimp on treadmills anyone?
Katie says
You always err on the side of protecting kids. Period. Don’t humiliate them for something they can’t control, and don’t let them go hungry. What a unconscionable reaction this school had. Sickening.
banshie13 says
I think that it is so very wrong to humiliate any child or adult like that. You could argue that it is a form of torture. You are giving someone that is hungry food only to take that away and throw it out!!!!
And on another point how much did it cost to buy, make and dispose of the lunches taken away or thrown out at the end of the day? Would it have paid a portion of the money owed?
As for the ‘snack ‘ option I am horrified that a child is given so little to eat. You need to be properly fuel up to learn.
But then I am Scottish and we have what is known as the ‘common weel’ meaning that you look after the most vulnerable.
banshie
Tasha says
While I agree that what the school did was totally inappropriate, the parents in the situation ought to be getting a bit more of the blame than people are giving. Yes, there are difficult financial situations, and not everyone qualifies for free/reduced lunches when they can’t afford to pay for school lunches. But there are always alternatives if you’re willing to put in the effort. The parents could talk to the school and make some kind of arrangement, or send lunch to school with their children, or find some other acceptable alternative to simply ignoring the problem and throwing their kids under the bus. The parents’ apparent expectation that they could ignore the problem and leave it on others’ shoulders is as reprehensible as what the school did.
No child should ever be in the position of knowing their parents didn’t take responsibility for their most basic needs, and humiliated by the school to boot.
jestjack says
At the risk of sounding mean…The parents should pay the money…If I have to pay in a timely manner…why should others get a pass. There are plenty of programs to provide for subsidized/ even free lunches. What recourse does the cafeteria have then to withhold the product? Just some insight…I went thru 8 years of Catholic school and an envelope was sent home with the amount of tuition due as well as the fee fpor bus transportation. I remember all too well being yanked out of class one day and taken to the Mother Superior because my folks had forgot to send in the money. It was a real dose of reality at right around 8 years old and a lesson in being responsible and paying your bills…..
Mrs. Ripples says
I remember reading our school’s policy on this and I think if the child’s lunch account has no money in it they will notify the parents but the child can still get lunch up to 3 days and the account is still charged. The parent will just need to pay off that amount. After 3 days, then they will still get food just not whatever they want. I think its a sandwich and milk. Very limited.
I’m torn on this issue. While I don’t think any child should go hungry if their family is really struggling, I do think schools can’t just ignore a child eating for free. Someone has to pay for that food. And if a family is struggling financially, they should contact the school and find out what they need to do to qualify for reduced cost or free lunches. Parent’s need to take responsibility for feeding their children. If they can’t afford to buy hot lunch, pack. I pack my daughter’s lunch every day and it’s way cheaper than paying for lunch every day. And if they are struggling financially to the point that they can’t even afford food to pack, then they should qualify for government programs like Wic or Snap and free lunch. The parent’s just need to be responsible to contact the school or right agency to get that help.
Elizabeth S. says
I work at a school and stay with my kindergarten aged students during their lunch, so I help the students who buy school lunch through the line and am very friendly with the cafeteria workers. It makes me sad when some of my students do not have lunch money and after 3 times of not having lunch money, the cafeteria workers are obligated from the cafeteria manager, to give the students white milk, cereal, and one side of veggies (no fruit is allowed). The kids get rather upset by the cereal (naturally so, because they don’t want it and the other kids ask why they have cereal when it is pizza day). It doesn’t help that the cafeteria manager (not the workers) is horribly mean. While I am happy the students are getting something to eat, cereal wouldn’t be my first pick. The food rules for the serving line are insane, they do throw away the food that a student touched either on accident or if the student doesn’t have lunch money. I try to ask my students in the line if they want apples as their side if another student touched the plastic wrapper so it won’t get thrown away. My students are 5-6 years old, sometimes they touch before thinking. Also, if a student doesn’t drink their milk, it gets thrown away, even if it is unopened, they won’t take it back. It really irritates me. I read an above comment that their child was on free lunch, but couldn’t just get the milk. That is true at my school too. They have to ‘buy’ the whole meal to get the milk if they are on free/reduced lunch. We use stickers for when kid’s need more lunch money and don’t judge, but I usually put them on the back of the student’s shirt or staple them to their go home folder if it is Tuesday. If the stickers are on the back, less likely they will be taken off. Not only is throwing the food away wasteful, it costs money and you know, the big topic in school is always the budget.