Lunch Shaming Children

[KQ]

Who does this shit?

Why kind of miserable excuse for a person would/could take food away from a 4yo? Surly anyone with an ounce of compassion would reach out and help these children in a heartbeat. I'm not a violent person but I think I'd have to do some serious bitch slappin' if I witnessed anything like what is described in this article. Absolutely heartbreaking:

U.S. schools rethink ‘lunch shaming’ policies that humiliate children with meal debts

SANTA FE, N.M. — Teaching assistant Kelvin Holt watched as a preschool student fell to the back of a cafeteria line during breakfast in Killeen, Texas, as if trying to hide.

“The cash register woman says to this 4-year-old girl, verbatim, ‘You have no money,'” said Holt, describing the incident last year. A milk carton was taken away, and the girl’s food was dumped in the trash. “She did not protest, other than to walk away in tears.”

[DBdude]

i would like to think that would not happen in my children's elementary school

vermont can be pretty fucked up, but there is a kindness in the elementary schools that my kids went to and the people that I know that work at other schools

[KQ]

and to dump the food in the trash - in what world does that make sense?

[hawkgt]

Happened at our kids school when we lived in MO. Wife worked at the school and paid anonymously for a couple kids that father lost his job and hit a bad time. Assholes are everywhere.

[DBdude]

^thank you for being kind

[fatnslow]

I'm guilty of not keeping track of my youngest kid's lunch card balance and if they would "shame " him for no balance he would go hungry ALOT. Thanks god for him and the lunch lady they don't pull that shit.

[bagtagley]

^^Same. My understanding here is that they never turn kids away, they'll just continue to add to the negative balance, and work with the parents for payment.

[sb]

the way it should be

[Cruiser]

Our kids lunch account go into default about once a quarter. They still get fed the first time but I think they get cut off after that. School is aggressive about collecting too. They email Mrs Cruiser and I each and leave us both voicemails once a day until we fix it.

[Gcooker]

Wtf? 4 year olds can buy their food at school in America? Isn't that your job as parents to make breakfast and send your kid to school with a lunch? Crazy that some of you oppose nationalized "free" healthcare but allow schools to feed your kids.

[Timberridge]

That cafeteria shit is one step removed from cat food. It's not the schools responsibility to feed your kid anyway. It's yours. Go get some WIC cards and haul your lazy ass to the grocery store and buy some halfway decent food and a reusable lunch bag, then get up 10 minutes earlier in the morning and make your kid lunch.

Or hit up the Alpenrose buffet and stuff your pockets each morning.

[Cruiser]

@ gcooker: Are those 2 things really equal in your mind? Cuz that's kinda crazy sounding to me...

[DBdude]

That cafeteria shit is one step removed from cat food. It's not the schools responsibility to feed your kid anyway. It's yours. Go get some WIC cards and haul your lazy ass to the grocery store and buy some halfway decent food and a reusable lunch bag, then get up 10 minutes earlier in the morning and make your kid lunch.

Or hit up the Alpenrose buffet and stuff your pockets each morning.

the lunch program at our elementary is amazing - healthy and local

the high school - not so much

vermont does do some things right

[Timberridge]

^^^ Are those 2 things really equal in your mind? Cuz that's kinda crazy sounding to me...

My understanding from Benny is the Alpenrose buffet is free for the taking as they would just have to throw out the cold cuts after brunch is over. So, yes.

[bagtagley]

@ gcooker: Are those 2 things really equal in your mind? Cuz that's kinda crazy sounding to me...

Maybe it's all Molson, poutine and maple syrup he had in school?

[Danno]

Wtf? 4 year olds can buy their food at school in America? Isn't that your job as parents to make breakfast and send your kid to school with a lunch? Crazy that some of you oppose nationalized "free" healthcare but allow schools to feed your kids.

Wtf? People in your country eat carrots and also play hockey?

[Gcooker]

@ gcooker: Are those 2 things really equal in your mind? Cuz that's kinda crazy sounding to me...

Bit of a stretch yes, but allowing the lowest common denominator (ie. government funded food programs) to feed your kids using citizen's tax dollars doesn't really seem like the best use of those funds. Add under-funding and food lobbyists pushing through processed crap I can't imagine the food is of any great quality which I'm sure doesn't help the staggering childhood obesity issue in the US (Canada too).

[Gcooker]

Maybe it's all Molson, poutine and maple syrup he had in school?

Difference is my parent's bought that, not the government. I fucking love poutine.

[bagtagley]

Haha. I don't disagree re:quality. I can count on one hand the number of cafeteria meals my kids had this past year. The food at their schools is the same as the shit at my schools. That's how I know the system. We told my son there wasn't money in the account, so don't try. Well, he tried and succeeded. Several times, and was shocked that we knew every time thanks to the automated emails.

However, I know for a fact that there are kids at their school whose only real meal of the day is often school lunch. I'm fine with my tax dollars, PTA donations, whatever going towards feeding those kids. I also think that denying a kid a meal and shaming them for their parents screw up is bullshit.

[digitaldeaths mom]

When Drew was a boy, I used to pack his lunch every morning before school. He's allergic to peanuts, so it was cheese on wheat bread, a seasonal fruit and Hi-C.

Here he is with his misspelled name tag.

[hutash]

and to dump the food in the trash - in what world does that make sense?

Texas

[hutash]

Wtf? 4 year olds can buy their food at school in America? Isn't that your job as parents to make breakfast and send your kid to school with a lunch? Crazy that some of you oppose nationalized "free" healthcare but allow schools to feed your kids.

That cafeteria shit is one step removed from cat food. It's not the schools responsibility to feed your kid anyway. It's yours. Go get some WIC cards and haul your lazy ass to the grocery store and buy some halfway decent food and a reusable lunch bag, then get up 10 minutes earlier in the morning and make your kid lunch.

Or hit up the Alpenrose buffet and stuff your pockets each morning.

In a just world, yes kids would get good meals at home. Unfortunately that is not the reality of poverty in this country. As said, school meals are often the only "good" meal some kids get. In case you haven't noticed, there are some shitty parents out there. I am glad at least some schools consider kids worth feeding, others not so much.

[Timberridge]

^^^Sure, I've noticed the shitty parents. Hell, sometimes I think I may be one of them.

I have a friend who teaches 7th grade at an urban school. Teachers are required to give each kid breakfast at their desk every morning: box of cereal, yogurt, fruit and milk. It takes about 45 minutes to distribute eat and collect. They have to throw any uneaten food out (even unopened) due to health codes. They had to hire an extra school nurse recently because every parent now thinks that the school nurse is their primary care physician.

So school, instead of a learning center, has become a foster care center.

[fatnslow]

^^^Sure, I've noticed the shitty parents. Hell, sometimes I think I may be one of them.

I have a friend who teaches 7th grade at an urban school. Teachers are required to give each kid breakfast at their desk every morning: box of cereal, yogurt, fruit and milk. It takes about 45 minutes to distribute eat and collect. They have to throw any uneaten food out (even unopened) due to health codes. They had to hire an extra school nurse recently because every parent now thinks that the school nurse is their primary care physician.

So school, instead of a learning center, has become a foster care center.

Why don't you ask your friend how hard it would be to run his class room about 1:00 PM each day if the kids didn't get breakfast or lunch ? I don't have any great solutions of solving educating the poor but I'm sure this isn't a "urban" problem. Teachers in rural poor areas face the exact same issues. I guess we can always start having poor kids work on farms or no skill manufacturing jobs and take back work form China ? Maybe mix in some forced sterilization for low intellect folks ?

[mall walker]

digitaldeaths mom

oh my this is an excellent account