Up to 40 kids at Uintah Elementary in Salt Lake City picked up their lunches Tuesday, then watched as the meals were taken and thrown away because of outstanding balances on their accounts — a move that shocked and angered parents.
"It was pretty traumatic and humiliating," said Erica Lukes, whose 11-year-old daughter had her cafeteria lunch taken from her as she stood in line Tuesday at Uintah Elementary School, 1571 E. 1300 South.
Lukes said as far as she knew, she was all paid up. "I think it’s despicable," she said. "These are young children that shouldn’t be punished or humiliated for something the parents obviously need to clear up."
Jason Olsen, a Salt Lake City District spokesman, said the district’s child-nutrition department became aware that Uintah had a large number of students who owed money for lunches.
As a result, the child-nutrition manager visited the school and decided to withhold lunches to deal with the issue, he said.
But cafeteria workers weren’t able to see which children owed money until they had already received lunches, Olsen explained.
The workers then took those lunches from the students and threw them away, he said, because once food is served to one student it can’t be served to another.
Children whose lunches were taken were given milk and fruit instead.
I can in no way find away to justify what these workers did to these children.
To snatch the food right out of their hands, in front of their peers, is abusive behavior and if I were a parent of a child it had happened to I would be demanding that the person be fired immediately.
Some of you may remember the story of the principal of the charter school who lost her job for standing up for children who were marked with a stamp as a message to their parents that their lunch accounts were empty.
What is happening to the country that adults believe that it is okay to embarrass and humiliate, not to mentions starve, children like this?
Is this the result of teachers being vilified and conservatives attacking public education at every opportunity? Or is it something else?
I swear I just don't get it.
Its like they all drank the heartless demonic GOP kool aid. I hope this reaches the white house....can you imagine the reaction Michelle would have to this? These people have no business even being around children let alone to be in charge.
ReplyDeleteThis better have some kind of resolution...disgusting.
Those involved in this shameful act "are being placed on paid, administrative leave pending further investigation".
DeleteFired, prosecuted, sued, personally, and barred from ever working around children again would be the only acceptable consequence these despicable people should face.
When I was growing up, we were very well off. We weren't rich, but we had no financial problems. (This was in the 50's and early 60's.) Still, my brother and I were raised "old school", meaning we didn't waste food. That was an enforced rule.
ReplyDeleteI must admit, however, that I didn't fully understand that philosophy until after I got out of the Navy. I was unable to find work and wasn't aware of any of the programs in place even then which could have helped me. I lived in a cave in the western side of the California mountains and ate what I was able to gather or catch in the lakes and streams in the area. Six months!
I was lucky because someone (a local police officer) finally found me and took me to where I could actually receive help.
To this day the only thing I leave on a plate is the shine.
I have often thought that we should institute a program that kicks in after a person gets out of high school. Allow them NO FOOD for at least a week. Water? Yes. Food? No. I feel that if people could actually experience true hunger we wouldn't waste anywhere near as much food in this country.
Let's face it. We are an extremely lucky country for the most part and we have become spoiled.
No, I am not forgetting the very large numbers of people here (at last count somewhere around 1 in 6, with the numbers growing) who are hungry. It's just the rest of us could do a lot more about it by simply making sure we didn't throw away the food others desperately need.
And to throw away food right in the faces of those children was simply despicable!
FIrst of all, all public schools in the USA get federal funding for school lunches, if the superintendent and board haven't set some aside for a few extra lunches than they are not doing their jobs. This school had a "nutrition manager" , I guess that means lunch bully.
ReplyDeleteSecond of all, a school, if they employ cooks instead of signing up for expensive( and crappy) "cheap" lunches they could have wonderful home cooked meals( a few school administrators in my family) my kids had wonderful school lunches, home made bread daily, homemade spaghetti sauce( you could have opened a restaurant with those cooks).
Secondly, this is nothing but bullying and humiliating children for no reason.
Thirdly, what did they save? They gave them the meals and then snatched them away and threw them out, so they couldn't have been sold to anyone else.
Fourthly, children do NOT learn when they are hungry, they should have just sent the kids home it accomplished as much. And there are now so many studies that without proper nutrition children's brains do not develop and that makes it everyones business because it affects our society as a whole.
And lastly, I am proud to say that before the federal free lunch programs came into existence that my Dad( a K-12 superintendent/principle/dean of students/ I guess I should add "nutrition manager") managed to feed the poor children by doing the things I mentioned in my first point.
Little Rabbit
The "child nutrition manager" made the decision to withhold lunches!!! Why not send notes home to the parents or telephone them or visit them? Anything but take food away from children and then throw it in the trash in front of them and their peers. Just disgusting. Something that could only happen in Teabagger Land.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
Why not call the parents and see if she could get the family on the free/reduced lunch program? She could have done many things besides bullying those children and she should be ashamed of herself.
DeleteWhat evil lies in the hearts of some people.
ReplyDeleteThere is no devil, only other humans.
Yea verily..........
DeleteNoon-time Hunger Games.........life imitates Art...?
ReplyDeleteI know the article didn't identify the child nutrition manager or the workers as conservatives but I'd bet money that they are conservative fundamentalists. I can easily see the conservative fundamentalists in my family thinking that's exactly what the child nutritionist should have done. The attitude would be "why should WE pay for their lunches? If the parents don't want their kids humiliated or if they want their kids to eat, let them pay for the lunches". No pity. No sympathy. Just cold-hearted cruelty and selfishness. The attitude is poor people don't deserve help of any kind because if they were deserving, they wouldn't be poor.
ReplyDeleteUtah, so I think we can safely say all involved were mormons( second M is silent)
Delete4:30, I don't know what flavor of the month these ass wads are. But you would be correct about the attitudes. I went to several different sites, including one in Utah that reported on this, to read the comments and was appalled and sickened.
DeleteIt was all the kid's fault. How can they(the kids) be so irresponsible? Why did they let the money run out? Why don't they work to eat? Why would they be embarrassed? What were they bitching about, they got an orange and some milk?
How can anyone call themselves a human, then turn around and say something sooooo fucking ridiculous?
Once upon a time, I walked in these children's shoes. I came from a dirt poor family. Not one of these bastards that hasn't lived it can really understand the toll it takes on kids. The humiliation, the shame, the teasing, the wanting to be dead because you believe it would be easier than having to face this abuse day in, day out. All of that and much more because a kid is poor. And they try to shoulder and carry the blame. Because, you know, it's always the kid's fault. It is not a pleasant way to grow up. And it does stay with you for the rest of your life.
But I survived, not with the help of god or some creepy religion, but with the help of a big group of truly great humans (kids my own age) that picked me up and taught me, among other things, that I was worth a damn, that my life mattered, and who knew? I had a rip roaring sense of humor that will never quit. If not for these people, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead or in prison right now. To them, I owe my life.
I decided that I was going to contact Sophia and offer to pay the rest of the year for her. After thinking about it for most of the day yesterday, I decided that I would pick a child in my own town and pay for their lunch. You know we're always here, bitching and roaring about the great injustices in our country. How about we all step up and try to help for a change? Put the money where the mouth is. We CAN help. We can't save them all. But we could maybe change one child's hell. Just think about it.
anon at 6:34 am
DeleteI will match you. I will call the principle at my grandkiddos school and see if she will pick out a family that misses the financial cutoff for free/reduced but is having a tough time and pay for that family. I think you just started something, something huge, going to compose an email to send out to my contacts.
I am with you! I too came from a family of limited means and when I read the story it was clear to me. I bet some of those kids did not bring home the information about the lunch money being low because they were too scared to bring the issue up. It is heartbreaking to see one’s parents struggle and kids internalize that struggle by avoiding talking about money or their needs with their parents. I agree with poster 6:34 a.m. Let’s help pay it forward for that child whose voice is silenced while their stomach growls.
Delete6:44 and 7:01, I seem to have a little something in my eye here. Perhaps dust. You two rock!
DeleteWe CAN do this one child at a time. We can help. These are our kids, our country. It's about time everybody stood up and said, ENOUGH!
Yes! Let's pay it forward!
When I was in 4th grade, my "EX" stepmother ran into my classroom screaming at me that I had not made my bed at home. The nuns let her get away with that. Those kids will NEVER get over that embarrassment of having their lunches grabbed and thrown in the garbage. The "child nutrition" expert who made that decision should have his/her name published on the front page of the major papers and should immediately be fired.
ReplyDeleteI saw this article on another site, and one of the commenters suggested that breakfast & lunch be offered to ALL students, and the cost be part of the school budget. That way it would be impossible to discriminate against the "free lunch bunch" kids. I pay taxes even thought I no longer have kids in school, and I would love for part of my $$ to go toward that.
ReplyDeleteso would I, but most schools do not make and distinction between paying or free lunch children. Though I am working for a short time in California and they are introducing a tests program to give breakfast to ALL students during the start of classes. They will not be charged and it will be offered to everyone. Kids can turn it down, but I am sure as an educator that Gryphen would agree that kids who are not hungry have a better ability to learn.
Delete5:10, Yes, yes, and yes! It does NOT have to be this way. These are the same 'types' to stand in front of a microphone and scream, The kids, the kids, what about the kids? every damn day.
DeleteThey need to be called out every time they open their pathetic mouths. They need to be verbally beat down with their own words and non actions. Lying bastards. It's way past obvious that these political whores don't give two hoots in hell about anyone's kids.
Hungry children, I am so ashamed and embarrassed to be an American. I never thought I'd say that, but I don't lie and that is the way I feel.
Something to remember is that these kids were NOT on the free lunch program - their families make enough that they didn't qualify. They had no money in their accounts, or had a negative balance.
ReplyDeleteThe school district had just put in place a new payment system for lunches & the parents were supposed to be notified via email if their student's account was empty. The parents of the kids involved all say that they were not notified.
So, to me, if you are running things, you've just started a new payment system & suddenly lots more kids are showing up with empty accounts, I would look into the system first & figure out why things changed. I would NOT descend on the school, humiliate children & waste money by throwing away food. But then I'm a godless liberal, so what do I know? :)
One silver lining to this story. One little girl was so upset by what happened (her best friend was one of the kids involved) that when she got home she made lunches for all the other kids, in case it happened again the next day. A liberal in training.
I was so emotionally wrought reading this when I got to the story about the little girl making lunches in case it happened again, I just burst into tears.
DeleteThis act of empathy and kindness on the part of a child should make the adults involved hang their heads in shame. However, I'm not hopeful given the fact the "child nutrition officer" (it doesn't get more ironic than that) could even THINK about doing this far less acting on that thought.
>One silver lining to this story. One little girl was so upset by what happened (her best friend was one of the kids involved) that when she got home she made lunches for all the other kids, in case it happened again the next day. A liberal in training.<
DeleteShe must have good parents to teach her the value of helping others in need. And caring enough to do something.
There are a billion people who don't get enough food every day, many of them starving children. What a message this country sends out with this kind of wastefulness. No wonder Americans aren't the most popular people on the planet!
ReplyDeleteBingo. It also exemplifies in the worst possible way, the consequence of ideology over decency, and the terrifying incongruity between the two. Sadly, it seems that the "GOTP" will never grasp the difference.
Delete6:34 had a wonderful idea and I hope it can go viral. With the $4 billion in cuts to the food stamp program late last year and with more cuts coming, there's going to be millions of kids going hungry. I guess I should say, going hungrier. I'm deeply ashamed of our country for the callousness that's being shown towards poor people.
ReplyDeleteIt all comes down to Americans voting and researching the congressmen or women representing them. Pay close attention because they say one thing and vote exactly the opposite!
DeleteThe Republican party in D.C. is now trying to change their image (remember America gives them an approval rating in the teens which is the lowest in history!)
They are very ANTI raising the minimum wage when the corporations are excelling as to their bottom line! Many Americans cannot live on the wages they are earning while all prices are escalating on food, energy, utilities, etc.
Boehner, McConnell, Cantor, Murkowski, etc. all need to lose their seats when up for reelection.
The folks that serve in D.C. become millionaires plus while being there. (We should vote in 'limits' as to their serving time much like the POTUS....which was done to avoid corruption and no change in government practices)
They make large wages, vacation more from their jobs than anyone on the planet and have medical care the likes of which the rest of us will never see! Plus, their attitudes suck - watch Boehner especially in action!
And, don't forget that they retire very, very well all at the behest of the taxpayer! They are also the ones that vote to increase their own salaries!
This system we are currently living under is horribly fucked up, corrupt and benefits ONLY them and/or the 1%!
They avoid the reporters - don't answer questions - change the subject - hide from reporters and act like the mob guy that we just watched recently on national TV! Im sure other reporters have experienced horrid statements from other congressmen and women but fear reporting them!
Wouldn't it be fun, putting into law, the requirement that all folks serving the rest of us (supposedly!) have to wear a mike/recorder on their person that is to be released to the public on a weekly basis? Would betcha they'd change their evil ways quickly!
The Republican party needs to be watched closely on the national, state and local levels. They are tied to the oil and gas industries - lobbyists cater to them and on and on!
Raise the minimum wage you assholes OR better yet, work for the same hourly wage as are the poor and see how long it would take you to serve Americans in a honest and caring manner!
We are on our way to becoming a third world country! The rich controlling the poor!
11:15, Most excellent rant. Yea! Thank you. Were we separated at birth?
Delete11:56 I was ranting and I'm so pissed at what is occurring within the Republican party. I absolutely detest them, their actions and their party! The fact they are getting away with their crap is a sin.
DeleteVOTING is the ONLY way out of this mess. We need younger, kinder folk in the U.S. Congress and on state and local levels that truly want to help others! Kind of like President Obama!
Holy crap, I hope these parents sue on behalf of their kids. Unbelievable. ACLU, where are you?
ReplyDeleteI haven't read all of the comments on the board yet so forgive me if I parrot another poster's comments. Let's look at this from an accounting and legal perspective.
ReplyDeleteIf the expense has already been incurred for the lunch being served to these children, why snatch them out of their hands only to toss them in the trash and then give them SOMETHING ELSE to eat? Fruit and milk is actually MORE expensive than the make-believe healthy food they're giving them anyway. Seriously, if it's all about money (accounting), put the responsibility on the school system and not the parents to make sure the decision is made before distribution. A post-distribution action is negligent, more costly, increases liability on the school system, is heartless, and EXTREMELY CRUEL to these families they are supposedly there to serve.
The simple solution was to immediately recommend the families apply for the reduced and/or free lunch program service (due to apparent hardship) to ensure their children would be provided a school meal without all the drama. If the parents were not notified and made aware of all their options, that is, again, a show of negligence of the school.
Thank you! +1,000 for a voice of reason.
DeleteA large part of this is the lack of a backbone on the part of workers at all levels being willing to "do whatever the boss says," selling their souls and silencing their own screaming consciences in the process. This happens at all levels. form university deans and department chairs who quietly go along with firing adjunct faculty to this example. Doing something morally wrong- humiliating and starving kids, or wholesale firing workers without just cause is morally wrong and you are culpable, whether you do it as part of your private life or your professional life. We (rightly) don't excuse the gas chamber attendant for just "doing their job" in turning on the gas,or the overseer fro whipping the slave- THIS is the banality of evil.
ReplyDeleteHome schooling has many defects. But vicious treatment like this can at least be put off until the the kid is at least a teen.
ReplyDelete10:36 Yes, but....what horrible things and abuses are committed on children who are home "schooled" who have no way of escape until they get to regular school?
DeleteKids isolated in home schools are easy targets for all kinds of dysfunction and abuse, but don't have a view of how a "normal" family looks or behaves. Nor do they have "outside" friends or adults available to them to intervene.
This is one of the big reasons I DO NOT support the governor's plan to use state money to fund home schools. For many it will be nothing more than a well-funded license to scam at the expense of the children who will get caught in the trap of dysfunction and abuse.
What is wrong w/adult Americans living in our country? I think the adults that took the lunches away from the kids (and threw them away - what a fucking waste of food - and total embarrassment to the children!) should be identified and their photos and names published in the largest Salt Lake City newspaper in Utah. (Their employer has both!)
ReplyDeleteI'm sick and tired of watching folks like this as well as that asshole in Congress (who appears to be a member of the mob) getting away w/the evil and nastiness they spread!
The 'boss' that directed this nasty deed needs to have his name etc. put up for all America to see. Bet he or she would run and hide as fast as they could.
ReplyDeletePeople need to be held accountable for their actions....those kids were NOT responsible for the fact their parents didn't have the funds to pay for their food. That 'boss' embarrassed them and kids will taunt those kids effected.
America is a friggin' mess!
I have to think this particular school probably systematically humiliates children. Nothing less than familiarity would let all the adults in that school observe that lunch tossing without intervening.
ReplyDeleteI know a number of elementary school teachers. Every single one of them would have walked up to that cashier and PAID for the lunches rather than watch those kids be humiliated. And every single one of them would understand that ALL the children would be severely affected by watching the lunches being taken away.
Something seriously wrong in that school is my opinion.
I don't get it, and I never will. They cut funding to school lunch programs, then purposely and with malice embarrass and humiliate the child by removing their lunch and throwing it in the trash. Kids suffer too much in so many other ways, and being humiliated in front of your peers is one of those wounds one carries for life.
ReplyDeleteThere IS no excuse for wasting food, especially when the adults in the room know there are enough hungry kids for each lunch tossed in the trash.
"But cafeteria workers weren’t able to see which children owed money until they had already received lunches, Olsen explained."
Screw with me and take your chances, screw with one of my kids and you'll need to unlace your shoe to blow your nose.