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.
