R.I. school flips on ‘sandwiches’
China Daily Global | Updated: 2019-05-13 23:22
A Rhode Island public school district will reconsider its plan to serve cold sandwiches to students with unpaid cafeteria bills after a backlash from parents and social media users.
The superintendent of the Warwick school system, which serves students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, said on May 9 that a school committee would vote on a reversal on Tuesday.
The school system with 1,653 students announced in a Facebook post last week that starting on May 13 students who owed money on paid, free or reduced lunch accounts would be served cold sunflower butter and jelly sandwiches until the balance is paid.
The announcement provoked responses from parents of students and local community groups. Social media users added their criticism when the policy received widespread media coverage across the US. Many said the policy was "lunch shaming" children for their parents' economic problems.
Karen Bachus, chairwoman of the Warwick School Committee, said in a statement posted online on May 8 that a subcommittee had recommended the lunch decision be reversed.
She said under the plan to be reconsidered, "no students are left without a meal under our current policy'', adding they are provided "a balanced lunch that includes vegetables, fruit and milk''.
"The policy subcommittee is recommending that the Warwick School Committee allow the students their choice of lunch regardless of their account status. With this policy we seek to find a balance between being fiscally responsible and ensuring that all our students are provided with a healthy, nutritious lunch," her statement read.
In addition to the backlash, the sandwich plan sparked financial support for the indebted students.
Bachus said that an estimated $14,000 was collected on two days after the policy was announced toward paying the school system's lunchroom debt, which she said totaled $77,000.
On May 9, the yogurt company Chobani donated $47,650 to pay the debt for the low-income students in the district, John Kell, a spokesman, said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
