Tray dumping spurs food policy review

One afternoon in the cafeteria shortly after he became the new principal of Kimball Elementary School, Jon Clark saw something that disturbed him. Occasionally students in the food line would discover they didn’t have enough money in their meal accounts to cover hot lunch, after they had already prepared their lunch trays. According to school policy, these students were to be given a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with milk for lunch. “If a child does not have enough money in his or her account, they have to take their trays to the dishwasher where they get dumped down a disposal,” said Diane Garding, head cook and KES employee for 15 years. For the past year, Clark and other school officials have been discussing the repercussions of such an action, and are prepared to make a change. “I never want to see a tray taken away from someone,” Clark said. Food service policy reviewed When Superintendent Scott Thielman arrived in Kimball he made it a personal goal to review the different areas of the Student Handbook. The Food Service section is one area especially in need of attention as it has not been updated since 1990; it uses language such as “meal tickets,” which no longer exist. The parts of the policy that are still applicable, state only that “students whose accounts are running low will have their hands stamped as a reminder to send lunch money,” and that students who do not have “enough money in their lunch account will be given a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (at no cost) instead of hot lunch until they have enough money in their account.” Also according to the policy, children in preschool, K-3, or with special needs cannot be denied a meal, which was defined as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a milk. Neither Thielman nor Taher food service coordinator Sharon Lommel seemed to know how the tray dumping originated. “I’m not sure if this was something that the past school board came up with – I really don’t know the reasoning behind it,” Clark said. Lommel, who has worked in food service for 11 years said the policy was in effect before she, Thielman, or Clark arrived. Clark explained that the computer containing the meal account database “dings” when students are 5-meals away from depleting their accounts. The “ding” reminds Garding to stamp the hands of these students. The hope is that parents will notice the stamps and put money into their child’s account. “Parents like the stamps,” Garding said. “At least those that I have talked to. Even if they are blurry at the end of the day parents know what it means.” According to the policy, “at least one advance written warning must be given to students and parents prior to refusal to allow additional meals.” But Clark said this hadn’t been happening. Food for thought Thielman raised Clark’s food service policy concerns for discussion at the Sept. 18 school board meeting, The school board agreed to review the policy and made some headway. The board revised the policy’s definition of “meal” as applied to students with special needs, in preschool, or grades K-3. The board decided hence forward, these students will always receive a hot lunch – regardless of meal account status. Thus tray disposal was eliminated for students Thielen identified as “more vulnerable.” But Clark’s issue extended to all students at the Elementary School, not only the most vulnerable. “A big concern of mine is student self-image,” he said. “This will affect students differently depending on their ages.” Kimball Area High School Guidance Counselor Dick Grommesh corroborated Clark’s concern. “I have not seen what goes on, and without being there it is hard to say what is best, but certainly it [tray disposal] would affect students, some more strongly than others – depending on the student and the situation. “In general I think it (the food services policy) could be changed to make sure procedures don’t promote such things. If teachers are concerned I would see if there was a better way to do it.” Lommel explained that per week, only about five or six students out of 300 have their trays dumped. “If there is a little guy that can’t eat, one (student) is too many,” Clark said. Another concern for Clark is the loss of perfectly edible food. “If you take away the trays you can’t reuse them anyway, its just a waste,” he said. In response to the increased concern of school board members and teachers, Thielman and Lommel decided Friday, Sept. 26 that teachers will be notified via e-mail an hour before lunch which students will have peanut butter and jelly due to insufficient funds. “The food service office will print up a slip so they [students] know to get their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” Lommel said. Clark said he hopes this will eliminate removing trays from kids. Clark said the school is also going to enforce the “at least one advance written warning” clause of the policy, so students and parents have more time to put money into student accounts. Be involved parents Lommel said it’s very rare for students to be without money in their accounts because most parents are very responsible and get their checks in on time. But because parents have different ways of allocating funds to student lunch accounts, there isn’t just one way to regulate student spending, but there are several ways parents can anticipate the depletion of meal accounts. 1. Monitor meal accounts Parents may allocate a certain amount of money to a child’s account based on a daily meal budget the child may or may not follow. Students are able to get extra milks, breakfast and lunch – small fees that can add up quickly. Lommel suggested parents find out how the child has been spending the account funds by contacting the office. Records from the food services office will provide that information. 2. Check for blue stamps Although they are often indiscernible by the time the child returns home, after lunch servers detect students only have enough money in their accounts for five more meals, they receive a stamp on their hands. This blurry insignia means its time to put more money in the meal account. 3. Inspect backpacks As of Friday, Sept. 26, students will be given a letter for parents regarding the status of their meal accounts. Because younger students may not unload all the contents of their backpacks, Clark suggests parents inquire about the letter or inspect backpacks themselves. “The ideal situation is that every child have food,”Clark said. “And no child has to suffer the humiliation of dumping a tray.”