By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com
Several parents in Westerly are expressing anger and frustration after their children’s school lunch was thrown away after the fell behind on their lunch payments. The action is a part of a new lunch policy implemented on Monday.
According to the Westerly Sun, the new district-wide lunch policy serves children an alternative lunch if they are behind on their payments. The USDA standard lunch includes fruit, salad, or a cold cheese sandwich.
Parent Holly Gingerella called into the WPRO Morning News with Gene Valicenti and said her daughter was in line to pay for her lunch, when her food was taken away and thrown out in front of her because of the balance on the lunch account.
“She asked them if [she] could give it to them tomorrow and they said no; she said she was so embarrassed that she just left and didn’t even bother to stick around,” said Gingerella.
Gingerella said the policy only applies to kids in the regular lunch program, while lower income family accounts remain the same.
“With the tax dollars that come into our education system all of these kids should eat for free.”
Gingerella says she is raising money to help pay off all the student lunch balances so no one has to go through embarrassment of having their lunch taken away.
According to the Sun, students whose lunch balances are above $20 and have not enrolled in payment plan will not receive the standard school lunch and will instead be given the reduced cold lunch.
The paper reports the district is owed $28,000 in school lunch payments, a message was left with the superintendent for comment.
