Sad state of affairs.....

I just read an article on MSN (are these stories really true??) about a cafeteria worker in Pennsylvania who resigned after being forced to follow the school board's new lunch room policy of refusing a hot lunch to a child because the parents are behind on payments for the lunch program.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/school-lunch-worker-quits-after-being-forced-to-refuse-hot-meal-to-poor-student/ar-BBwoZd7?li=BBnbfcL

I can understand schools needing to be sure the lunch accounts are current but to have an arbitrary rule that must be followed by the lunch ladies who have to take the lunch tray from that child, look into that child's eye and tell them they cannot have their chicken nuggets but instead must eat a piece of cheese between two slices of wheat bread.....well, that, to me, is enough of a reason for the lunch lady to sue her employer for cruel working conditions.

To add insult to injury, the lunch had to be thrown in the garbage (because it had been served to the child but not eaten) and it was all done in front of classmates and teachers.

Why not have an employee monitor the lunch accounts and contact the parents to bring the accounts current? If the parents are unable to afford the lunches they should be directed to wherever to apply for aid. If the parents are just lax about paying their bills then charge them a penalty......but don't penalize the children at school.

Our country sends trillions of dollars a year to foreign countries to 'feed the hungry'.....but then I read a story like this and wonder what the hell is wrong with us.


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Yeah, this one is real, Beth. It made the national news several weeks ago and we, too, were mortified.

To be singled out when you're young in front of your peers is one of life's worst memories. And to make the poor lunch lady the one who has to do it is unconscionable. The throwing away of the food tray made it all the more a travesty...

It makes me ashamed to be an American.

I just hope it brings the school board policy to the forefront in that school district and the parents can pressure the board to change it's current policy. So often policy is set without the knowledge of many in a district ~ not many people take a real interest even though their children are directly affected by the board decrees.

I just feel so sorry for that Lunch Lady. The eyes she looked into will stay with her for the rest of her life even though she did nothing wrong. I wonder if she considered just giving the kid a pass and THEN resigning.......

My hubby's best friend in Germany comes from a family who were among the largest landowners in northern Germany. He still lives in the house that has been in his family for over 450 years. Gorgeous, gorgeous place. After WWII when Germany lay in ruins, there was a food plan for children. It wasn't much, but my husband's friend was told "You don't get any of the chocolate milk because your family is rich." That also was really, really hard on a 6 year old. He told me the story, and the fact that my husband then shared his, and the friend has never forgotten it.

Of course, it was different, but children just need to be able to fit in and to have a child denied is terrible.