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This article doesn't seem to really explain how this whole debt thing works. What I'm guessing happens is some kids go to the cafeteria and get food, and then t

This article doesn't seem to really explain how this whole debt thing works. What I'm guessing happens is some kids go to the cafeteria and get food, and then their parents are supposed to pay the bill later, and they can't afford it so they don't (and maybe their parents told them they can't afford and they're supposed to bring a lunch to school but they didn't listen, or their parents didn't tell them). So then the lunchlady has to act like a debt collector and go take their food away and replace it with something cheaper (not sure why they just don't decline them the hot lunch food in the first place). Does this sound right?

osiriskang 1y ago
I can only speak for my own schools in the USA, but this is not quite right. As a student, you were expected to pay for lunch at lunchtime. If you were privileged enough to afford it, generally your parents would give you enough money to fill your lunch account for 1-2 weeks. If you did not have enough money in your account to cover the meal, which was a set price for staples with extras (i.e., extra side dishes, snacks, drinks aside from water/milk) adding to the price, you would be required to have no more than a ham sandwich and milk, or if the cashier was feeling nice allow you to accrue debt/take the lunch for free. From what I have heard, this is how it was generally when I was in school. The movie stereotype of the bully "coming for your lunch money" while fairly anachronistic in my school years was not a completely unheard of scenario.
Suppafly 1y ago
>So then the lunchlady has to act like a debt collector and go take their food away and replace it with something cheaper (not sure why they just don't decline them the hot lunch food in the first place). I'm sure it works 1000 different ways in 1000 different schools, but generally you pick up the tray at the beginning of the line and pay at the end of the line, so kids that are broke get to the end of the line and can't pay and then have the tray taken away and are handed a brown bag with a sandwich in it instead. Since most of these systems are tied to a lunch card or their student id, they don't know that they don't have any money left to pay until they get to the register and are told they don't. Likely they are allowed to "overdraft" by a week or two worth before they get to that point, but I'm sure some schools probably cut them off immediately. The overdraft is what the author in the OP is paying off, so now those kids are back zero and get to overdraft another week or two until they are cut off again. Or theoretically their parents that couldn't pay the overdraft off might be in a position to at least pay going forward.

osiriskang 1y ago

I can only speak for my own schools in the USA, but this is not quite right. As a student, you were expected to pay for lunch at lunchtime. If you were privileged enough to afford it, generally your parents would give you enough money to fill your lunch account for 1-2 weeks. If you did not have enough money in your account to cover the meal, which was a set price for staples with extras (i.e., extra side dishes, snacks, drinks aside from water/milk) adding to the price, you would be required to have no more than a ham sandwich and milk, or if the cashier was feeling nice allow you to accrue debt/take the lunch for free. From what I have heard, this is how it was generally when I was in school. The movie stereotype of the bully "coming for your lunch money" while fairly anachronistic in my school years was not a completely unheard of scenario.

Suppafly 1y ago

>So then the lunchlady has to act like a debt collector and go take their food away and replace it with something cheaper (not sure why they just don't decline them the hot lunch food in the first place). I'm sure it works 1000 different ways in 1000 different schools, but generally you pick up the tray at the beginning of the line and pay at the end of the line, so kids that are broke get to the end of the line and can't pay and then have the tray taken away and are handed a brown bag with a sandwich in it instead. Since most of these systems are tied to a lunch card or their student id, they don't know that they don't have any money left to pay until they get to the register and are told they don't. Likely they are allowed to "overdraft" by a week or two worth before they get to that point, but I'm sure some schools probably cut them off immediately. The overdraft is what the author in the OP is paying off, so now those kids are back zero and get to overdraft another week or two until they are cut off again. Or theoretically their parents that couldn't pay the overdraft off might be in a position to at least pay going forward.