Yes, you read that headline right. A lunch lady, DENIED a seven-year-old his lunch for reasons I can’t even explain. And unfortunately it gets worse—here’s the story:
Xavier, from Cascade View Elementary in Washington, was in the cafeteria line waiting to receive this bag lunch when the lunch lady working there reportedly told him, “Guess what? You can’t have a lunch.” He was then handed a slip that stated that he had a negative lunch balance, even though he is part of a free lunch program.
According to Fox 8, even when a child has a negative balance of $20 or more, they’re still entitled to have a back-up lunch which includes a cheese sandwich, unlimited fruits and vegetables, and a drink. However Xavier didn’t receive that either, instead he went home hungry that day.
According to Xavier’s dad Eric, his son shouldn’t even have a negative lunch balance because his lunch program is funded by the state.
“My question was never answered as to why he was denied. I was very mad. I couldn’t believe it happened. It happened to me as a child and I could still feel that hurt and I can only imagine what he went through,” Eric said. ‘That’s like saying, ‘Hey, you don’t have your book bag so you can’t have your education’. They need to concentrate. They can’t concentrate without eating.”
The Snohomish County School District is currently investigating the incident that reportedly happened late last month, on Oct. 2o. As for Xavier, his father is currently looking into the possibility of removing him from his school, based on how poorly they handled the situation.
OKAY. The fact that the lunch lady still has a job is not okay. Common sense would tell you that a seven-year-old can’t go eight hours without eating a proper meal. Heck, I can’t even go two hours without snacking on something. But the fact that she had the audacity to deny him food (from a free lunch program, I might add) the way she did and do it in front of all his peers is appalling behaviour. Not only did she probably humiliate him, but she also decided to let him starve on top of that too. I honestly can’t imagine someone looking a child in the face and telling them they can’t eat, it’s disgusting. What makes it worse is even if he did have a negative balance, Xavier was still ENTITLED to eat food, but wasn’t given any. Instead he had to go through the rest of the school day trying to ‘learn’ while probably trying to ignore his grumbling tummy.
Goodness, I just get mad reading this stuff. I can’t imagine how infuriated his parents must feel. The situation was handled poorly, plain and simple. And unfortunately the child had to suffer because of it. Not cool.
Yes this is beyond disgusting. I couldn’t do it.