[Cowgirl of Justice]

I agree it was handled wrong.

That being said, why is there a deficit in their accounts? If the parents don’t have money, surely they are getting welfare and can make a lunch using the food purchased with food stamps.

This crap never happened when I was in school. The poor kids got free lunches- maybe 5-10% of the kids did. The rest of us brought bagged lunches or lunches in a lunchbox or paid money for our food. Or we did without.

[Azeem]

“That being said, why is there a deficit in their accounts?”

1. Many parents (probably more like a parent) are just lazy and don’t refill their kid’s account.

2. School worker are incompetent, even by government employee standards and don’t always tell the parents the account is low. And the schools are food fascists so the kids can’t just bring their lunch anymore.

[mmichaels1970]

That being said, why is there a deficit in their accounts?

Sometimes it's simply a pain in the rear to keep track of. I have four kids in school usually somebody drops into the negative before I hop online and reload their account.

Another solution might be for the cashier to check the balance and warn the child a day or two BEFORE his account goes negative.

[huldah1776]

One school system always had PB&J for those without. A child with irresponsible parents should be able to eat.

[pnz1]

Our child’s school does this type of account. Normally you set a minimum balance and if it falls below that they will send you a note home or an email to tell you it’s low. Sometimes they will tell my son and he will tell me. I think once we have “run out” of money in the account, but they gave him lunch anyway and we sent in a check the next day.

It is convenient because you can check balance online and make payments online. I can see what my child has bought on the account and set up limits on what he can/can’t have-ice cream, slushy cups, water, etc.. (I can just imagine him “buying a round” of slushy cups for all his buddies if I didn’t keep up with it)

[skinkinthegrass]

in our state (KY) some of the "litter darling$" had to help-out in the cafeteria during the week in the '70s..
some of those families had 7-9 kids..(education/Norplant was needed), all were on welfare "social services".

[CJ Wolf]

My son got his lunch taken away the other day. like it says they have them pick thier lunch and then they go to the puter to have the cost deducted. He had a $3 deficit, and they tossed it in the trash. BTW the check I gave him two weeks ago was still in his backpack when he got home. Some time it aint the parents fault, nor the schools. I do question the wastefulness of the tossing the food though.