Withholding lunch for nonpayment is standard policy at Salt Lake City schools

[jsr]

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57472249-78/lunch-district-lunches-kids.html.csp

Seizure of lunches at Salt Lake City school draws scrutiny
By Kirsten Stewart | The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah lawmakers are questioning school lunch policies following the seizure of lunches Tuesday from nearly 40 students with outstanding account balances at Uintah Elementary.

Withholding lunch for nonpayment is standard policy at Salt Lake City schools, according to a former lunch worker.

"To hear the district say, ‘Oh, this will never happen again,’ they’re the ones who implemented this policy," said Pam Gomez, who worked for the Salt Lake City school district for seven years before resigning two years ago due to health problems.

Gomez defends the kitchen manager for "doing what the district told her to do," but believes stripping lunches from kids is misguided.

[upaloopa]

1. Another post about this says the lunches were thrown away.

That shows there is no school financing motive behind this. It is just pure meanness.

[hughee99]

15. I read that once the food is served to someone,

it can't be served to someone else, so they probably were thrown away because of a "health and safety" policy. Yes, this was just pure meanness.

While most normal people can see the clear problem here, I'm sure some administrator is looking at the problem trying to figure out how to identify the students BEFORE they are served lunch so in the future, they won't have to take food away, they'll just never get served.

[upaloopa]

17. Never getting served is no solution.

The children are not at fault and need the food. Any other way of looking at this is just wrong.
Feed the kids and clear up the problems later. Poverty is not a crime. People should come before money or a principle that puts children in the position of not getting nutrition to grow on.

[hughee99]

21. I agree, but you know there's some admistrator out there somewhere

who thinks "the problem" is the bad PR from taking food away, not the fact that the administration decided to embarrass hungry children whose accounts weren't paid up.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Whatever the policy is, it is disgusting and horrifying. n/t

[joeglow3]

3. What is the answer?

Now, I agree they way they did it was bullshit. There is ZERO excuse to take the lunches and throw them away instead (especially if your motivation for needing to this was financial, as they needed to provide alternative meals to the kids, at a higher cost).

That said, what should happen when a parent refuses to pay? At our sons' school, we are notified when their lunch balance gets below $10, again with it is around zero and again to let us know they won't provide lunches once the balance is -$10. We have never had it reach the point where they say it would be cut off. I am guessing (hoping???) that they would work with people who contact them and are having real financial difficulties. But what should the school do when all of these steps are ignored?

[Fumesucker]

5. If it is the fault of the children that their parents are irresponsible then they should go hungry

Otherwise they should be fed.

The school is temporarily in loco parentis of the kids I believe.

[joeglow3]

7. The kids are still fed a meal, as they were in this case

[LanternWaste]

16. what was the precise and objective benefit of simply throwing away hot meals?

It seems to beg the question however-- what was the precise and objective benefit of simply throwing away hot meals?

[joeglow3]

19. If I had to guess

Probably some $8 an hour employee who was told some people were not paid up and could not be served the hot lunch freaked out when he/she realized everyone was served. Probably didn't want to get in trouble, so made the poor decision they did. I sincerely don't think someone set out to create this shitty situation for the kids.

[wercal]

6. Some PTOs fund an emergency lunch fund, for kids whose balance goes below zero

[CBGLuthier]

8. Well, in a DECENT society, we would be happy a kid ate and move on

Raise everyone's taxes by a penny and feed our fucking kids already.

[FLyellowdog]

9. My observational opinion after being a teacher for 25 years...

Brainstorming about school lunches...
(1) Non-paying students could be provided with soup and crackers in lieu of regular lunch.(Although this too would cost the district money, it would be minimum and could possibly be funded by soup companies. Good way to advertise to a captive audience.)
(2)After a pattern of non-payment refer unpaying families to Social Services to determine their needs.(Yes, more work for an already overloaded agency, but it's an idea.)
(3) Have state resources pay for all lunches...after all, school for underaged children is required by law so maybe lunches should be free. (Yes, Socialism at its best, but hey...kids are forced to attend school.)

Under NO circumstances should the students go without lunch or be made to feel embarrassed over something that is the parent's responsibility.

This was brainstorming....good ideas/bad ideas...but ideas.

[upaloopa]

18. Feed the children! It isn't rocket science!

[joeglow3]

22. What happens when the budget runs out?

No, it is not rocket science, but it IS basic math. Many schools don't have cash falling off of trees. What happens when the cash balance is zero?

[upaloopa]

23. That isn't going to happen. All we need to do is make feeding

poor kids a priority. You can make it a priority budget line item.
I work for government. We also fund school programs with state money. We know how much income there is. You then decide where it is going to go. Feeding children just isn't a priority to most people.
Being poor is a crime and poor people need to be punished and their decisions controlled. Not feeding their kids is both control and punishment. We need to replace that meme with compassion. In the long run good nutrition for kids pays off when they are older. We are too concerned with hollow platitudes that get us nothing.

[joeglow3]

25. You are assuming the people not paying are because they are poor

No one disputes the need for government to intervene then. However, given that the parents were deemed to owe money (ie they did not qualify for free or reduced lunch), clearly some of them were cases of parents who did not make responding to multiple request that they were deliquent a priority. As someone mentioned above, you need to make lunch free to all in this situation, or you need to motivate those parents who can afford it to cut the check.

[upaloopa]

27. I fell I can't know their motivation without

Knowing the particulars.
Still you should not punish the kids by taking away their lunch.
I agree I made the wrong assumption

[Fumesucker]

4. Oliver Twist at least got gruel and poverty juice

These people make Dickens look positively cheerful.

[Xyzse]

10. That is just evil...

That food will be wasted and thrown out any way.

[Cairycat]

11. In my school district

an elementary school student who is $30 or more "in the hole" (i.e. owes for lunches) can be given a cheese sandwich and milk.

In our district, the elementary kids' accounts are debited before getting the lunch, so there is no dumping a lunch. Parents who owe for their kids' lunches, especially as it gets near or over the $30 mark, are notified multiple times (by phone, note in the kid's backpack, and email if parent has opted for that) that they owe and what will happen if they don't pay. They are repeatedly offered the opportunity to apply for free or reduced lunches. The cheese sandwich is a last resort.

Most school lunch programs operate on pretty tight margins. I do agree that the best solution would be to have the school provide the lunch without payment, but until that's a reality, there needs to be some way for the programs not to have incur huge losses.

[Niceguy1]

12. The OP

Fails to metoon, I wonder if intentionally, that it is their policy to provide fruit and mike if the srudent cant pay and isnt eligible for free lunches. Ironically thats probably the most healthy meal served. The district also aplogized, too. Byt yhat wadnt mentioned, eithe

[B2G]

13. That's the way our district does it

And I see no problem at all with it.

The food shouldn't have been tossed out, with that I agree. But parental responsiblity has to kick in here. If you can't afford the lunches, apply for free/reduced ones. The income threshhold for a reduction isn't that high.

[mstinamotorcity2]

14. To Hell with this policy and others like it.

This is America. No person should go HUNGRY!!!!!!! In America no school aged child should have to pay for lunch. Good nutrition is key to a good education. I don't care if a child can pay or not. They are required to attend school. Lunch should be provided at NO CHARGE!!!!! They are in school most of the day. They need nutrition. And please don't give me that shit about parents should be able to pay that can afford it. To Hell with that. If Americans and its Legislative body can advocate for the latest weaponry, then they should be able to feed our children. Anybody know what one of those idle Tanks they are not using cost?? what the latest Drone cost??? What the latest raise our Legislative body gave themselves???? To take their food and throw it away?? Replace with milk and a piece of fruit???? Bullshit!!!!! This is a story that is truly HORRIBLE!!!! There will be those who don't agree with me, I really don't care. I will say it again. No person should be Hungry in America. The old saying is there are no Free Lunches. For American school aged children THERE SHOULD BE!!!!

[Stargazer09]

20. The solution

Have the kids pay for lunch before going through the lunch line. If they don't have the necessary money in their accounts, they get shuffled to the alternate lunch line (often a cheese sandwich or other cheap meal).

The kid still gets something to eat, there's no dramatic theft of a meal in front of the other kids, and the school doesn't throw away a full meal for no reason.

Shame on the school district for having that policy in the first place. It's not the child's fault if the parents don't pay for lunches at school.

[TheMathieu]

24. I wonder how good the $30 lunch was at the country club

on the other side of town as these kids were humiliated and handed slop.

[warrant46]

26. You Cut right to the Chase

Awesome comeback !!

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