The other day, I was reading an article on how this bus driver got fired for posting on his Facebook wall about how angry he was when a child came onto the bus hungry because he didn’t get to eat lunch since it was taken away from him for being short on a couple of cents. Now, he was fired for posting on his Facebook (which is another debate in itself), and there has been some claims that the child did in fact eat, but still, this isn’t the first time this issue has happened.
Some of you may remember the Salt Lake City Incident, in which 32 school lunches were taken away from students and thrown out because they had an outstanding balance on their accounts. I understand that the school district is working on a budget, but seriously, there is a better way for them to get their message across to students and parents. Some of them said that they had no idea that their balance was running low.
This has happened to my sister in elementary school. She was short about .15 cents and they denied her lunch. Like legit took her food away. She came home crying and starving. My mother and father were furious. For .15 cents? Really? And, to make it worse, they most likely threw the food away. My sister now carries extra money, and not just for herself, for the occasional classmate that forgets or is short.
Here is my take on the debate. LET THE CHILDREN EAT. It is not that parents are not willing to pay, most just forget to refill the account balance. It happens. It is not the end of the world, but are you really going to throw away perfectly ( debatable in most cases) edible food? Not to sound like a parent, but THERE ARE STARVING CHILDREN IN THE COUNTRY. I don’t have to go around the world to say that poverty is hitting close to home. I hate that the district feels that it is right to waste food instead of just giving the child some slack. Really, no one should ever have their lunch taken away from them, only to have it thrown out in the end.
Also, don’t give me the spiel about how some families are qualified for free/reduced lunch. BS. It is the same when apply for financial aid. On paper, you may look like you have enough money to survive, but they forget that you have to pay other things as well. Mortgage, heating, telephone, water, car payments, maybe even hospital bills. You also have three children who need clothes, FOOD, books, and who doesn’t want to spoil them once-in-a-while. It may look good on paper, but that is not always the case. I just don’t get what people do not understand about this.
Again, it is not that the parents do NOT want to pay the lunch fee (it may be the case sometimes), but it happens. Or, sometimes, maybe the child has forgotten to remind the parent, or bring their lunch money (Lord knows I have done that once or twice). Really, bless the lunch ladies/men at schools who let kids slide for a couple of cents. There is nothing worse than getting food taken away from you. What are we in? A prison?
In short, I am not pleased by these recent articles about schools publicly taking away the school lunches of children. I think there needs to be a review about how cases like these are handled. I mean, the school district doesn’t even make a profit from selling school lunches. It is understandable that they want to settle accounts, but if they are just going to throw it away, then might as well let them eat it. I’m just saying, there is so much more school districts have to worry about than taking lunch away from children.
To whoever is reading this, please comment and tell me your take on it.
Musings 