School throwing out lunches

[SquirrellyMama]

I know this has been talked about before, but I find it really frustrating. My son came home and told me that when he went through the lunch line yesterday his account was negative and they threw away his food. He wasn't starving since this was an extra portion, but he is my 17 year old, 6 foot boy. When he told me I thought we were way under. Usually, I get an email warning me when we are getting low, but never got one. We were a whole $1.25 negative. 

If they are going to throw it away, why not just let the kid eat it. 

His art teacher gave him a pop tart to supplement 🙂

He is back in the black and can eat as much as he wants. I better keep better track if I'm not getting the reminder emails. Fortunately, he wasn't mortified, at least he didn't say he was.

Kelly

[Danae]

When my kids were in school we occasionally went negative because of glitches in the payment system (I had it set up to auto-charge my credit card when the account went under $10, but it didn't always work.)   The kids still got lunch, the cashier just told them to please remind their parents to put some money in their accounts. Throwing away the food is ridiculous.

[Ditto]

This makes me irrationally (actually it isn't irrational at all) angry!  Not only is it a waste of food, it is incredibly cruel.  They would rather watch kids be hungry than just give them the food and deal with the parents.   There is no way in the world I would ever toss a kid's lunch if I worked in the cafeteria.  I just can't imagine looking into the face of a kid (of any age) and then take their food and throw it away.

[prairiewindmomma]

This is illegal in my district. 

This is especially stupid right now since USDA is funding the school lunch program (free lunches for all 0-18) through next June.

 

[SquirrellyMama]

19 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

This is illegal in my district. 

This is especially stupid right now since USDA is funding the school lunch program (free lunches for all 0-18) through next June.

 

And, he did get the regular lunch, he just happened to get an extra entree which isn't covered. He is always hungry. I just didn't know it was low. I used to have it on auto renew but had some issues with the system. 

If they are going to throw it away just let the kid eat it.

Or, set up the system to check kids in at the beginning of the line so they don't take food that they can't have. That's what out set up was in school.

 

[Tanaqui]

Places with this policy - and I agree that the policy is garbage - always claim that if they just let the kids slide "just once" then some parents would never pay up.

The obvious solution is free lunch for all, and by the way, I advise anybody who serves lunch in a district with this policy (or a similar one) to get these instructions in writing. Because when somebody finally goes to the media with all this, you're the one who's gonna be the public face of grasping, stingy evil in the cafeteria - not your boss.

[math teacher]

I don't think I could throw away a student's lunch. We are supposed to throw away any leftover breakfasts. Students eat breakfast and lunch in classrooms now. I've been known to turn up a carton of chocolate milk that was left-which is also against the rules.

[Hunter]

Soup kitchens can be worse. At many of them that only serve women, women are not allowed to bring out any food that they did not finish. If they get caught putting the leftovers in their bag, they are banned for a set period of time. The fear is that women will bring food out for men.

So if the meal is served late, and a woman is late for an appointment for a service critical to her safety and ability to get housed, she cannot grab the food and run with it. She must throw it away and go hungry. Crying about it will get her banned for sure.  Rules are rules. End of story.

Going for seconds is "stealing". Even if the portion was obviously too small for a large woman known to be very active. The only thing allowed is for her smaller friends to give her some of their portions. 

Then they throw all the rest away. They start the process in front of those women, that often just watched a crying person get banned that very day.

Then they hold a psyche meeting with worksheets about self-esteem and wonder why people don't bother to attend. And staff complains about their disrespect and say how that proves they do not want to "get better" and just want free food.

But for now, some places closed altogether. Others, they can now walk away with their food, but there are no critical appointment to get to. The plan is just to leave them on the streets.

I used to get angry. Now I just wait to see what happens next as we implode.

[rebcoola]

It's such an incredibly stupid policy.  It's a waste of food and embarrassing to the kid.  

[SquirrellyMama]

16 hours ago, math teacher said:

I don't think I could throw away a student's lunch. We are supposed to throw away any leftover breakfasts. Students eat breakfast and lunch in classrooms now. I've been known to turn up a carton of chocolate milk that was left-which is also against the rules.

They are looking for people to work in the school food service. I almost want to get a job just so I can give kids their lunch even if they are negative. I'm sure I would get fired real quick.

Kelly

[Ditto]

21 hours ago, Hunter said:

Soup kitchens can be worse. At many of them that only serve women, women are not allowed to bring out any food that they did not finish. If they get caught putting the leftovers in their bag, they are banned for a set period of time. The fear is that women will bring food out for men.

So if the meal is served late, and a woman is late for an appointment for a service critical to her safety and ability to get housed, she cannot grab the food and run with it. She must throw it away and go hungry. Crying about it will get her banned for sure.  Rules are rules. End of story.

Going for seconds is "stealing". Even if the portion was obviously too small for a large woman known to be very active. The only thing allowed is for her smaller friends to give her some of their portions. 

Then they throw all the rest away. They start the process in front of those women, that often just watched a crying person get banned that very day.

Then they hold a psyche meeting with worksheets about self-esteem and wonder why people don't bother to attend. And staff complains about their disrespect and say how that proves they do not want to "get better" and just want free food.

But for now, some places closed altogether. Others, they can now walk away with their food, but there are no critical appointment to get to. The plan is just to leave them on the streets.

I used to get angry. Now I just wait to see what happens next as we implode.

This is nothing short of horrifying.  I had no idea.  What happened to kindness, generosity, and sympathy?  It seems they have all gone the way of the dinosaur.  Also, "but for the Grace of God there go I".  

[Soror]

I have a 16 yr old, he always gets two lunches too, the lunch ladies like to fight him on it for some reason but they have never thrown food away. They also let them go a little in the red. I know before even if they had no money they could get a basic lunch but of course that isn't going to be enough to keep a teenage boy full.

[katilac]

On 10/15/2020 at 4:13 PM, SquirrellyMama said:

 Or, set up the system to check kids in at the beginning of the line so they don't take food that they can't have. That's what out set up was in school.

That would certainly make more sense.

[EKS]

On 10/15/2020 at 4:17 PM, Hunter said:

Soup kitchens can be worse. At many of them that only serve women, women are not allowed to bring out any food that they did not finish. If they get caught putting the leftovers in their bag, they are banned for a set period of time. The fear is that women will bring food out for men.

Why would a soup kitchen serve only women?

[Hunter]

2 hours ago, EKS said:

Why would a soup kitchen serve only women?

Some of the biggest donors at some of the largest soup kitchens will only feed women and children, because they think women and children are more vulnerable are more blameless for being poor, and that men have fewer excuses for being poor.

Also, women begging on the streets is worse for business than men begging. Some soup kitchens are placed in areas that attract beggars.

Donors are like stockholders; they get what they want. Some of these donors were schooled with textbooks that said one of the major reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire was free food given to the poor.

[gaillardia]

Our school district has just started free breakfast and lunch for everyone enrolled.