3 things you can do to stop student lunch shaming

Over the past three years, school cafeterias have become an unlikely site of controversy.

The problem of school lunch debt, or the debt students acquire when they cannot pay for their school lunches, drew national attention back in 2015 when a Colorado cafeteria worker was fired for giving food away to hungry students who didn't qualify for a free or reduced lunch. The same thing has happened to cafeteria workers elsewhere.

When a student repeatedly forgets their lunch money or cannot afford their meal, cafeteria workers may be instructed to take away the child's hot meal and replace it with a cold sandwich. This is one example of what's called "school lunch shaming." Some schools go as far as to ask children to wear a wristband or hand stamp so cafeteria workers can better identify themThis singles out the student and makes them vulnerable to bullying, which needless to say, can affect their self-esteem and studies. Read more...