Young Boy Has Food Taken Away On 9th Birthday By School Lunchroom Employees Over Unpaid Balance

Sep 18, 2019 by apost team

A ninth birthday turned into an embarrassing day for a young Ohio boy. Jefferson Sharpnack ordered cheesy breadsticks for lunch. The lunch lady took those items away and gave him bread and a piece of cheese from the refrigerator.

Why? Because he had a negative cafeteria balance of $9. Jefferson told ABC 13 Houston that the lunch lady didn't say a word to him before she grabbed the breadsticks and sauce off his tray. Then, she took out the bread and cheese out of the fridge and put them on his tray instead. 

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A few days earlier, the boy had taken a note home from school notifying his parents that his account was in the negative. His grandmother, Diane Bailey, called the school the next day. She thought everything was straightened out.

Jefferson, along with his brothers, were supposed to be enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program at school according to Fox 8 News Cleveland. However, the paperwork hadn't been finalized yet. So when Jefferson ordered his lunch it was school protocol to take it away from him because of his account balance. 

Diane told Fox 8 News Cleveland that Jefferson felt embarrassed and said it was the worst birthday ever. She also added to ABC 13 Houston, "You would take the food off of a tray, you can't reserve it--you're gonna throw it away and not feed the child? That doesn't make sense to me." 

In light of the event, the school decided to make a policy change. The Superintendent of the local schools Jeff Miller stated:

"We are sensitive to the financial hardship families incur and challenges presented due to the cost of school breakfast and lunches. Our staff, in coordination with Family Support Specialists, will continue to work with families to ensure they have access to all available resources to assist with purchasing school meals."

What do you think of this situation? Did the school handle things right? Could they have done something else? Let us know your thoughts. Also, please pass this video along to family and friends.