An incident involving an overdrawn lunch account at Seward High Dec. 15 sparked controversy over the weekend, eventually leading to the temporary shutdown of the Seward (Nebraska) Community Chat Facebook page and a rally by community members to fund negative lunch accounts.
A Dec. 16 post stating that a student’s lunch was taken from them and thrown away because of their negative lunch account balance garnered more than 220 comments.
That post was followed by 13 separate posts by other parents and students, yielding more than 750 comments until a Chat administrator temporarily disabled the page around noon on Sunday, Dec. 18.
The discussion centered on the way a member of the food service staff treated the student, allegedly making a scene about the negative account balance and causing embarrassment.
One student’s post said he paid for a few of his friends’ lunches “so they wouldn’t get humiliated.” Another student referred to the employee’s actions as disrespectful, writing “What happened to mutual respect as stated in the handbook?”
Seward Public Schools sent an email to parents Dec. 18 about the incident, which it said involved a Sodexo employee.
Sodexo is the third-party company that provides food service in the schools. It hires its own employees, who are not employees of SPS. This is the first year SPS has contracted with Sodexo after the district had trouble finding enough food service employees to continue its own lunch program.
“There have been numerous social media posts about students not receiving meals and/or having their meals taken from them,” SPS Superintendent Josh Fields wrote in the email. “All students have access to a meal, as clarified in our district policy below.”
Sodexo provided a statement on the matter on Dec. 19.
“Sodexo is committed to Seward Public Schools, and we are excited to be part of the Seward community. We are committed to continually improving our services, and last week’s incident at Seward High School has been addressed. We will use this incident as a training opportunity for all staff to understand the importance of following policies and procedures to avoid incidents such as this in the future,” said Bob Snowden, district food service manager for Sodexo.
“Seward Public Schools does not condone the incident that occurred with a Sodexo employee at the High school,” Fields wrote in his email to parents. “Once the administration was notified of the incident at the High School, the administration intervened with this employee and the Sodexo Food Service Manager was contacted immediately.”
Fields said in a phone call Dec. 19 that school officials handled the situation quickly and resolved it internally.
“High school administration intervened and was able to talk to that employee…‘That’s not how we talk to kids. That’s not OK,’” he said.
The district’s meal policy, number 3012: “School Meal Program and Meal Charges,” states that if a student has no funds available to pay for a meal, they may charge up to $20. After that, they will be given and charged for a “limited ‘courtesy meal’ option, such as a plain sandwich.”
Fields said the student received their regular lunch after the situation was sorted out, but students may not purchase a la carte items with a negative balance.
“Everyone can get a meal, but if a kid has a negative balance, they can’t get a Gatorade or a Powerade or an extra bag of chips,” Fields said.
He said student accounts get charged after they have already made their food selections – something SPS doesn’t have a say in.
“By state law you have to have the point of sale afterward so no one gets overcharged. That causes a bit of an issue,” he said.
The meal policy continues: “If a student repeatedly lacks funds to purchase a meal, has not brought a meal from home, and is not enrolled in a free meal program, the district will use its resources and contacts to protect the health and safety of the student. Failure or refusal of parents or guardians to provide meals for students may require mandatory reporting to child protection agencies as required by law.”
“Sometimes it’s just ‘I forgot to tell my mom and dad I need money,’” Fields said.
The policy is provided to all students and their parents/guardians at the start of the school year, along with information on the federal free and reduced-priced lunch program in which SPS participates. The program allows students of families with low income to receive meals free or at a cheaper rate.
Fields said districtwide, about 20% of students use the free and reduced-price program.
He said the number of applications for the program has increased recently.
“During Covid, we had free lunches for all students for two and a half years. This is the first year we went back to being paid. We have seen more applications for that,” he said.
For students not enrolled in the federal program, lunch costs $3.15, and breakfast costs $2.10. At the high school, students may buy additional items a la carte.
“Seward Public Schools has maintained a fund for many years to be able to support students who are unable to afford their lunch,” Fields wrote.
Families can request funds from the account in situations where they don’t qualify for the federal program but still can’t afford to pay, and sometimes school staff will recommend use of the fund.
“Counselors have had kids talk to them about it. We notice if they need some support. We utilized it just last week, so it’s something we’re constantly monitoring,” Fields said.
Those wishing to contribute to the fund may write a check to Seward Public Schools with “negative lunch balances” in the memo line.
SPS also participates in the Kiwanis Backpack Program, which sends backpacks full of food home with children over the weekend if they may not have access to food outside of the school day.
Between 50 and 60 SPS students are served by the Backpack Program, Fields said, with additional students served at area parochial schools.
Fields said those with questions or concerns may contact Snowden or any SPS administrator.
