Mom Is Told By School Board To 'Pack A Lunch' For Her Kid After Threatening To Press Charges Over 'Inedible' Cafeteria Food
The school board's indifference was more shocking than the food.
Monkey Business Images / CanvaPro Schools are responsible for the safety of their students above all else. But what about basic necessities, like food?
One mother on TikTok revealed just how her school district disappointed her. Alongside threats of legal action, this mom confronted the school board about the “inedible” food her daughter was served in the cafeteria.
After realizing her child was served ‘inedible’ cafeteria food at school, a mom wrote an email to the school board to let them know she’d be ‘pressing charges’.
“Dear [school board name], I hope this letter finds you well… During lunchtime, I discovered a burger patty in my child’s meal that was inedible and appeared to be one of the most disgusting food items I have ever seen served.”
In a long email, the mother detailed the nature of her child's lunch including pictures of her daughter's burger. “The look of the burger itself is sickening and I will be pressing charges; Due to the lack of food regulations being put in place, I believe it is crucial to ensure that the food provided in our school meets the necessary standards of quality, freshness, and safety.”
The school board claimed there was nothing wrong with the cafeteria food and that she could ‘pack a lunch’ for her daughter if she had an issue.
Despite the photos and urgent email from this mother, the school board took several days to respond — if that wasn’t indicative of their indifference, their short response surely was. “Many complaints have been sent to us about the food quality,” they start. “However, we don’t see any issues with the food being served.”
Photo: @thatscrazy_64 / TikTok
“Despite the discoloration of the meat, it is still edible. If you or your daughter has an issue with the lunch being served, don’t eat it. Packing lunch is still an option.”
Both this mother and the entirety of the comment section were in shock over the school board’s response. Whether or not they believed the food was edible was beside the point — the school’s response was inappropriate.
In the face of a panicking and concerned mother, a school board should be ready to reassure, especially when it’s something as serious as the safety of a student.
Outside of being a blatant health issue, the school board’s indifferent response raised several other ethical concerns.
“This incident not only affected my child’s/student’s lunch experience but also raises concerns about the amount of students who unknowingly ate this very lunch,” the mom wrote in her email. “As a parent, there is absolutely no reason why anyone should be served such a thing… it’s sickening.”
This mother’s concern, in tandem with the school board’s inappropriate response, raised tons of red flags. Were students being subjected to unsafe foods at school? If they were knowingly giving children this unsafe food, where else were the students at risk?
The board’s response mentioned that “many complaints” had been made surrounding the quality and safety of the cafeteria food. So, clearly, this wasn’t a one-off meal. Of course, despite all of that, they “didn’t find any food quality issues.”
Photo: Monkey Business Images / Canva Pro
Who was checking the food? The same people that willingly served it?
Being that many children rely on school lunches as their main source of food, it’s essential for nutrition to be prioritized.
In 2020, more than 20 million students across the country received free or low-cost meals at school through the National School Lunch Program, highlighting the severity of food insecurity in the U.S. According to Save the Children, an estimated 12 million kids are struggling with hunger domestically, highlighting how important the school lunch program truly is.
This school district certainly isn’t the only one struggling to provide quality, nutritious meals to its students. According to the School Nutrition Association, inflation is impacting the quality and availability of food in schools. The cost of school lunches is going up as a result making it even more difficult for children at or near the poverty line.
If there’s a lesson in this mother’s experience, it’s that school districts need help. They need advocacy for better funding, volunteers, and a better environment for their staff and students.
Of course, this school’s response to an incredibly valid concern is wildly inappropriate for a variety of reasons and parental concerns should always be taken seriously.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a news and entertainment writer at YourTango focusing on pop culture analysis and human interest stories.