Mom In Trouble With Son’s School For Sending Him With Extra Lunch To Give To A Hungry Classmate
ORION PRODUCTION | Shutterstock A mother on TikTok was shocked to find out that her son had gotten in trouble with the school during his lunchtime, but was even more shocked when she discovered the reason why.
She has been stuffing her son’s lunch box with extra food for some time now, and she has a good reason for doing so, which is why she was in shock when the school got upset about it. Her son's classmate was living in food insecurity, and according to the latest data from the USDA, 7.3 million children in the U.S. are in a similar situation.
A mom said her son got in trouble for giving away his extra food to help a hungry classmate.
In a TikTok video posted on November 9, 2022, the saddened mom explained the situation as she packed yet another stuffed lunchbox for her son before he went off to school. “Would you believe I got reprimanded for sending my son to school with too much food?” she asked. “Now, to me, that sounds ridiculous because if he’s hungry, he should be able to eat.”
When put very simply, it makes absolutely no sense to cause trouble with a student and their family because they’re sending too much food to the school. “But that’s not the reason we send all this extra food,” she added, listing off ingredients like pudding, chips, and some snacks.
“This extra food is for a child in my son’s classroom,” she explained. “He told my son that the only time he gets to eat is at school.” In a heartfelt move, she decided that she would start stuffing her son’s lunchbox in order for her son to give the boy some more food to eat.
Despite the school asking her to stop sending extra food, the mom continued.
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Ultimately, she was confused about why the school would take issue with it. “Why would the school stop me from giving him extra food?” she asked. “I’m sure they’re aware of the situation going on at home, and I find it absolutely [expletive] disgusting that my son is getting reprimanded for doing a kind deed.”
On the surface, it seems cold and heartless to try to stop her or her son from giving a hungry classmate some extra food, but it didn't faze her enough to stop.“I’m gonna keep making this kid’s lunch, and they can kiss my [expletive],” she declared at the end of the video.
It's very possible that the school is actually acting in the hungry boy's best interest, even though it might seem heartless at first. Without parental permission, this could be a serious problem. What if he has an allergy? What if the food the mom sends in contains ingredients that are dangerous because of medications or go against moral or religious practices?
Instead of simply jumping to the conclusion that the school is the bad guy in this situation, a better solution would be for the mom to contact administrators to determine a safe way to help. Perhaps she could prepay for school lunches for the student or simply get permission from his parents first.
The comments criticized the school and praised the mother for her good deed.
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“Schools do nothing BUT overstep their bounds nowadays,” read the top comment on the post. “They know, but they don’t care. They think they are these kids' parents,” one user replied to the comment. “Good for you for helping out this child, that’s amazing!”
Many of the commenters were just as confused as the mom, wondering why it’s any of the school’s business what or how much she packs inside a lunch. “My mom used to give me extra to share,” one person revealed, “how is that any of the school’s business?”
Someone tried to make a guess at why the school would care if a child’s lunch was being packed with extra food, saying, “Probably because of Covid and allergies. They don’t want to be liable?”
“Some schools have a strict no sharing food rule.” However, that didn’t seem reasonable enough to the mom, because she replied, “Well if that’s the case then it should be their responsibility to make sure that child eats. If they’re still worried about Covid and allergies.”
She also explained that she had checked with her son’s teacher beforehand to make sure that she wasn’t impeding anyone’s allergies. All in all, she’s doing a wonderful thing and setting a fantastic example for her son by helping a child in need, but it couldn't hurt to talk to the school counselor or principal before simply assuming the worst about the school policy.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and relationships.
