West Bend High School reporter Kara Conley wrote a very strong article about the school district’s lunch policy and what happens when a student has a negative balance on their lunch account.
A portion of her story is below.
“We have a policy that if you have no money in the account then you are obviously not able to buy extras or things like that, unless you have money in hand,” said Abby Padilla, director of nutrition for the West Bend School District.
“If you are a regular paying student, and you are in the negative six dollars or more, you are not allowed to eat. And the reason being is that we have a policy in place and a system that’s in place,” Padilla said.
When students have extended their negative balance, their food must be taken away and discarded. A code of health must also be followed, according to Padilla.
Read the rest of Conley’s story which touches on free and reduced lunch and how much food is discarded daily in the district – read more at The Current.
(Top image: Cafeteria server Becky Krutina receives the student line during lunch on Wednesday. Photograph by Hannah Bensen, Current Staff.)