A cafeteria manager and supervisor have been put on leave by Utah school officials after they took food away from kids and threw it away because their parents were behind on school lunch payments.
As previously reported, about 40 kids, whose parents were behind on lunch payments, had their food taken away and tossed. The cafeteria then provided the kids with fruit and milk, so they didn't go completely hungry.
Parents behind on payments had been contacted on Monday and Tuesday, providing them with a chance to get up to date on the lunch payments, but not all had before their kids went to have lunch on Tuesday.
School officials said they are looking into the situation to make sure it never happens again, reports the Los Angeles Times. The reason why the food was taken away from the kids is that their balance isn't known until after they collect their food and they go to the computer to checkout.
Officials posted an apology on the Salt Lake City School District Facebook page saying, "This situation could have and should have been handled in a different manner. We apologize."
Comments on the Facebook page show that no one is particularly satisfied with the response from school officials, which didn't surprise officials, who apologized a second time.
image: Wikimedia Commons
