Alternative school lunches leave a bitter taste

An article from the Seattle Times



When too many parents fell behind on paying for school lunches, the Chula Vista Elementary School District decided to get tough ... on the children.
They told students with deadbeat parents that they had one lunch choice: a cheese sandwich.
The sandwich, on whole-wheat bread, came with a clear message: Tell your parents to pay up or no more pizza and burgers for you.
Cheese sandwiches and other "alternate meals" have been added to menus in school districts across the country as districts try to take a bite out of parents' lunch debts.
The strategy worked in Chula Vista: Lunch debts in the district fell from about $300,000 in 2004 to $67,000 in 2006. Some angry parents say success came at too high a price, however.
The cheese sandwich, they say, has become a badge of shame for the children, who get teased about it by classmates. One student cried when her macaroni and cheese was replaced with a sandwich. Another girl hid in a restroom to avoid getting one. Many sandwiches end up untouched or in the garbage. Sometimes, children pound them to pieces.
"I think it's an infamous cheese sandwich," said Frank Luna, whose son, Christopher, just finished the sixth grade.
A year ago, he said, a cafeteria worker took away Christopher's pizza and forced him in front of his friends to pick up a sandwich instead. A similar incident occurred when Christopher was in the third grade. "The kid was humiliated," said his father, who added that he did not realize he owed less than $10.