A student was apparently denied a hot lunch after cafeteria workers at an Alabama high school tossed his lunch in the trash when he didn’t have the money to pay.
CBS5 reports that according to a trending social media post, it was the student’s first day back to school, at a new school for him, Foley High School, after his family relocated to Alabama following the devastation of Hurricane Michael in Florida. A Facebook post made by Laurie Sumrall Brown, reportedly a parent of another student at the school, stated the cafeteria worker told the student, “no money, no lunch” before tossing his tray in the trash.
“The student that was behind her (that got the chicken sandwich, fries an orange and a drink) is trying to charge his lunch to his account. Did I mention that this was this child’s first day at Foley High school? Anyway, the cafeteria lady proceeds to tell his child that he can’t charge his lunch. Her words were “no money, no lunch”. And then of all things she takes his tray, the tray complete with a chicken sandwich, fries, an orange and a drink, AND THROWS IT IN THE TRASH!!!!”
UPDATE: I called the high school this morning and spoke to asst. principal Webb. She was very nice and really helpful….
Posted by Laurie Sumrall Brown on Thursday, November 29, 2018
Brown’s post indicated that her daughter, who witnessed the incident, offered to buy the student a lunch after a cafeteria worker gave him “two pieces of stale bread with a piece of dried up cheese between them” as a replacement for the lunch thrown away.
According to the Baldwin County Public Schools’ Policies for Education manual, “Two meals may be charged. The students and/or parents are responsible for repaying funds for charged meals to the cafeteria. After a student has charged two meals, an alternative meal may be provided to the student at the principal’s discretion.”
FOX10 reports that Baldwin County Superintendent Eddie Baldwin responded to the allegation on Friday afternoon, claiming that the student was fed and that the family had “no problem” with how the incident was handled. The stated did not confirm or deny if the cafeteria worker threw the student’s lunch away.
“Today we have been dealing with questions about our school system’s lunchroom policy, prompted by a Facebook post, and we want to make it clear that no child in our system will go hungry or without a meal regardless of his or her economic means.
Every day we feed nearly 10,000 free and reduced lunches through the Federal Lunch Program that our school system cafeterias offer. Further, our employees are dedicated to our students and would not let a child go hungry. Many volunteer their time and money to help families in need.
We have investigated the matter reported at our school about a child’s lunch being thrown away and fed a sandwich. Out of respect to the family’s privacy, all we can say is that the child was fed and the family has no problem with how the matter was handled.
Eddie Tyler, Superintendent”
Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: USDAGov/Public Domain]
