School Made Six-year-old Girl Do 'Cafeteria Walk Of Shame

Trade

Trade

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https://www.newsweek.com/girl-6-told-return-school-lunch-after-she-didnt-have-enough-money-cafeteria-1431511



Traumatize a kid over $2 bucks?

A six-year-old girl was told to return a tray of food at her school cafeteria because there was not enough money in her account.

Dwight Howard said his granddaughter Anya Howard was “lunch shamed” and urged Southwest Elementary School in Greenwood, Indiana, to review its cafeteria policies.

Last Friday, Anya had a tray of hot foot but was forced to return it because she did not have the $2.25 in her account needed to pay for it. She then went to the back of the line to wait for an alternative lunch of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She said that she was "sad" because she was laughed at. Her grandfather described the "cafeteria walk of shame" as humiliating, WFLA reported.
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IMO opinion all K-12 school lunches should be provided for free.


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I agree with the idea that all K-12 meals and snacks should be included in the school budget and paid for out of the various school taxes.

The city school district in my city provides about 24,000 free meals each day under a federally financed program due to the fact that 80% of the students in the district are considered economically disadvantaged.

Now it's going beyond school lunches. In my city, some students also receive breakfast and a late snack/dinner. Some schools participate in Blessing in a Backpack to provide kids with food for the weekend and 49 schools in the district provide free lunches during the summer when school is in recess.

It's sad to live in a time where so many people can't or won't take care of their children.
 
Well....I do support some sort of 'action' so that it is known. Why do we [as a society] continue to carry those that will not work/display any sense of responsibility ? Although I'm not on board with depriving a child a nutritional meal.

I would like to see a school board official go to the home of the child, and whack the parent(s) in the head with a 2X4!
 

Aunt Bea said:
I agree with the idea that all K-12 meals and snacks should be included in the school budget and paid for out of the various school taxes.

The city school district in my city provides about 24,000 free meals each day under a federally financed program due to the fact that 80% of the students in the district are considered economically disadvantaged.

Now it's going beyond school lunches. In my city, some students also receive breakfast and a late snack/dinner. Some schools participate in Blessing in a Backpack to provide kids with food for the weekend and 49 schools in the district provide free lunches during the summer when school is in recess.

It's sad to live in a time where so many people can't or won't take care of their children.
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"I agree with the idea that all K-12 meals and snacks should be included in the school budget and paid for out of the various school taxes."

I disagree here...Unless it comes out of teachers salaries...or ... teachers lounge updates are skipped for several years....:) Because the only way it could ever come out of taxes....is for said taxes to be raised...& I for one am sick & tired of paying for other peoples bedroom trophies........
 
Makes me angry the way that child was humiliated! :mad: There was a better way to handle it.

We don't know...maybe the parent(s) are working two minimum wage jobs just to barely make ends meet. :shrug:
 
applecruncher said:
Makes me angry the way that child was humiliated! :mad: There was a better way to handle it.

We don't know...maybe the parent(s) are working two minimum wage jobs just to barely make ends meet. :shrug:
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I agree we don't know the full story.

It could have been a simple case of a parent forgetting to reload the kid's lunch account.

In any case, the kid should have been given a meal even if it means a change in the lunch account that allows it to run negative until the parent can be contacted.
 
OMG, this is absolutely horrible and a disgrace to the school district. I am going to contact my local school district and ask how they handle these situations. I would be more than glad to start a pool with money in it to pay for a situation such as this. All that I would ask in return is that my name be kept anonymous. Do you think this would be a good idea? I can see the pros, but not any cons with it since I would be keeping my name out of it.

I had heard from my grandson one time awhile back that his friend, who carries his lunch, had left it at home. The school gave him a cheese sandwich and a carton of milk, but to me, even that is not acceptable.

I will make a phone call on Tuesday and ask about their policy because school is now out for the holiday weekend. I will report back what I learn.
 
I commend you Oldman. Your heart is in the right place.

These kids are our future and our children's future. They are our most valuable resource. If their parents won't or can't take care of them, who will?

At the very least, taxes can provide a Lunch Emergency Fund of a few hundred dollars for emergencies like this each year. A helpless child should never go hungry nor be humiliated, ever.
 
oldman said:
OMG, this is absolutely horrible and a disgrace to the school district. I am going to contact my local school district and ask how they handle these situations. I would be more than glad to start a pool with money in it to pay for a situation such as this. All that I would ask in return is that my name be kept anonymous. Do you think this would be a good idea? I can see the pros, but not any cons with it since I would be keeping my name out of it.

I had heard from my grandson one time awhile back that his friend, who carries his lunch, had left it at home. The school gave him a cheese sandwich and a carton of milk, but to me, even that is not acceptable.

I will make a phone call on Tuesday and ask about their policy because school is now out for the holiday weekend. I will report back what I learn.
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Great idea! Maybe an emergency lunch fund could be started.

I don't like the assumption that the child's parents are lazy bums. Maybe a parent got laid off, or is in the hospital. Maybe the electric was gonna get shut off.
We just don't know.
 
K-12 = Kindergarten thru 12th grade (end of high school)

Another thing...kids can be cruel...I can imagine some little snots making fun of the "poor" kid whose parent can't afford lunch money.

Shame on the way that was handled.
Southwest Elementary School in Greenwood, Indiana,
Makes me SICK. :mad:
 
oldman said:
Kadee46 said:
I’m sure the child will remember being humiliated for the rest of her life


Curious what is a K12 school ?


K-12 is actually a Kindergarten through grade 12.
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Thank you AC & Oldman
My youngest GD ( 14 ) is still at school she did year 1 to 6 in a junior school then moved to high school at a different location.
However the government is closing smaller schools and building super schools
I’m not sure if any are operating yet as it’s been a long time since my youngest left school
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A child,hunger and shaming shouldn't be in the same sentence...
When I worked in head start it was pitiful to see how hungry those tots were on Monday mornings breakfast.
 
The child should never suffer any humiliation for something like this. Back when I was young we didn't have much money, I brown bagged it with a tuna, bologna or liverwurst sandwich, I didn't have to deal with paying for school lunches.

I think the parents had the obligation to see that the child had a school lunch, either they needed to ask for some kind of assistance, or they needed to contact the school authorities and attempt to work something out. Embarrassing or shaming the child is not acceptable in my opinion. Giving a few free lunches until things could be worked out would have been the reasonable thing to do.
 
Shame shame on school ..in Victoria all school canteens are run by contractors they are in a business of collecting money not giving anything for free

I don’t have children however I have volunteered in canteens at schools / hospitals & nursing homes
more so since retiring 8 months ago
 
Sounds like the scene from Oliver Twist. Little Oliver, on the brink of starvation from the tiny bit of gruel he gets to eat in the workhouse, dares to approach the Master with the request: "Please, sir, can I have more?"

The answer, "MORE!!!?" is followed by the kid getting beaten and screamed at.

Some things never change.
 
How can we.....secure a volunteer program where money is collected to strictly feed these kids?

No funding from taxes, [the kids won't get it] . A complete separate collection/donation altogether . All on a complete volunteer basis. How do we [if we organize it] keep it honest? Just throwing money at a problem from an emotional point of view never works. The greedy always get their portion. Some people just cannot afford higher taxes, but they may have a few extra bucks, after fed tax refund for example.

I'll take some of my old pleasure spending money and feed kids.......But I'll be damned if I'll support a tax increase!
 
I told my wife about this incident and she was surprised that one of the lunch personnel didn’t ante up the two bucks. Yeah, good idea. If I would have been there as a teacher, custodian or whatever, I certainly would have put up the money. I thought about this all night. I kept thinking to myself, “You gotta’ be kidding.”

Heck, I've helped in grocery lines at the register. Sometimes to speed things up; sometimes because I can see the person is short of money and rather having the person put it back, I just pay for it, so long as it’s food or a necessary item.

I doubt that for the majority of us that a few bucks would send us to the poor house, as my dad used to call it. Then again, I realize that there are some folks that need those few bucks. I am not dispelling that it is possible and I am sympathetic to their needs, as well.
 
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