This is not only cruel, it’s also incredibly stupid.
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. [...]
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.
Let’s be clear here.
Children were served lunch and then a manager took away their lunch and threw it away.
Presumably the lunch they were served cost money to serve. That’s why the students were in debt, right?
Since food costs money, why throw the food away? I understand that you cannot serve the same food to another person, but you’re essentially throwing food away for an ideological reason; to punish children. Those children may be in debt (which is a heinous concept) but when you throw food away, you’re throwing money away. What difference does it make if they are allowed to eat the food instead of tossing it? The school spent money on the food whether they eat it or not, so why not let them eat it?
Whoever is directly responsible for this; whoever the “child-nutrition manager” is; should be fired and never work with children again. Ever. Their talents may be better suited for a prison or the House of Representatives.