In a very cruel enforcement of delinquent school lunch accounts, Unintah Elementary in Salt Lake City, UT., in essence repossessed the food right out from the mouths of some 40 students.


The move obviously angered parents, and according to the Salt Lake Tribune, Eric Lukes, whose 11-year-old daughter had her cafeteria lunch taken from her as she stood in line Tuesday, said "it was pretty traumatic and humiliating."

When the district’s child-nutrition department realized the extent of overdue accounts they decided to take action and withhold the food from the children. Only problem is that the system that is in place will not give account information until the lunch has been bought.

Jason Olsen, a Salt Lake City District spokesman explains that the workers then took those lunches from the students and threw them away, he said, because once food is served to one student it can’t be served to another.

Olsen said he would not describe the tactic as a mistake.

"If students were humiliated and upset," Olsen said, "that’s very unfortunate and not what we wanted to happen."

He later revised his statement to: "This situation could have and should have been handled in a different manner. We apologize."