How to deal with a delicate situation?

[Allegra]

I work at a school and in the school there is a staff room where employees can keep and prepare their lunch. Since Christmas break, there have been nearly weekly occurrences of food theft. Several small items are being taken at a time from the fridges and even out of staff members’ lunch bags. We are pretty certain that the food isn’t being taken by a staff member. We’re a really close-knit group and it’s pretty hard to believe that someone would risk a decent-paying job for a tuna salad pack or a Dr. Pepper anyway. The popular belief is that it’s a sub, district maintenance person, or some other adult who isn’t personally invested in the building but comes in from time to time.

I’m of the opinion, however, that it’s quite possibly a student. We have free breakfast and all students are given lunch if they don’t have one, so they’d be taking the food to take home and eat. My concern is that the food might be being taken by a child who doesn’t have enough food at home, or worse, who is being punished by not being allowed to eat on a regular basis. (Believe it or not, this is a really common form of punishment.)

I have an idea of keeping the food-thief out of our lunch bags by putting out a bowl of “free”, healthy snacks on a table that is already designated for the giving away of “free-to-a-good-home” items. The staff would be informed of the bowl’s purpose by an email.

I’m thinking of running this idea by my boss on Tuesday. What do you think?

 

[1990Domer]

I think your idea is a good one. I am curious, are most lunches kept in the refrigerator in the cafeteria? Or is this in a teacher lounge (sorry if I missed it the first time around). If it is a big school, the teachers may want to keep their lunch in the cafeteria area where lunches are prepared. That way, the workers are there to monitor the teachers’ food (and I doubt they want to lose their jobs).

Also, is there a chance the teachers cans switch to insulated lunch bags and keep their lunch locked in their desks?

 

[Allegra]

I think your idea is a good one. I am curious, are most lunches kept in the refrigerator in the cafeteria? Or is this in a teacher lounge (sorry if I missed it the first time around). If it is a big school, the teachers may want to keep their lunch in the cafeteria area where lunches are prepared. That way, the workers are there to monitor the teachers’ food (and I doubt they want to lose their jobs).

Also, is there a chance the teachers cans switch to insulated lunch bags and keep their lunch locked in their desks?

I’m not prepared to say what percentage of teachers use the fridges in question. They are located in the staff room, which is a combination copy room/lunchroom that’s even sometimes used for small study groups or individual testing. Teachers aren’t allowed to keep food in the main kitchen because of cross contamination risks. This is a common rule. We had the same rule about employee food when I worked in food service. I think lots of teachers do keep their lunches in their rooms and some even have small fridges in their rooms. Even so, there are enough staff members that use them and they are also used for potluck luncheons and parties.

I should also add that it is highly unlikely that the food is being taken during the regular school day. The room is used heavily all day. It’s probably happening after school, during after hour care and clubs and sports.

 

[Sunbreak]

I don’t know. I’d be tempted to have a camera put in to see who is doing it and then confronting them.

 

[guanophore]

I work at a school and in the school there is a staff room where employees can keep and prepare their lunch. Since Christmas break, there have been nearly weekly occurrences of food theft. Several small items are being taken at a time from the fridges and even out of staff members’ lunch bags. We are pretty certain that the food isn’t being taken by a staff member. We’re a really close-knit group and it’s pretty hard to believe that someone would risk a decent-paying job for a tuna salad pack or a Dr. Pepper anyway. The popular belief is that it’s a sub, district maintenance person, or some other adult who isn’t personally invested in the building but comes in from time to time.

I’m of the opinion, however, that it’s quite possibly a student. We have free breakfast and all students are given lunch if they don’t have one, so they’d be taking the food to take home and eat. My concern is that the food might be being taken by a child who doesn’t have enough food at home, or worse, who is being punished by not being allowed to eat on a regular basis. (Believe it or not, this is a really common form of punishment.)

I have an idea of keeping the food-thief out of our lunch bags by putting out a bowl of “free”, healthy snacks on a table that is already designated for the giving away of “free-to-a-good-home” items. The staff would be informed of the bowl’s purpose by an email.

I’m thinking of running this idea by my boss on Tuesday. What do you think?

Its a great idea. A nannycam might also be helpful.

 

[Anglewannabe]

I think it is an AWESOME idea.

My mom was a teacher and kids were complaining about their lunches being stolen. They suspected it was ‘Sam’. His mom just was not the type to make him a lunch (and it was NOT a financial issues’

My mom and other teacher bought bread to keep in the freezer and some peanut butter. They pulled Sam aside and said 'we realize you take the bus early in the morning and could easily forget your lunch. if you tell us first thing in the morning, we could defrost some bread (no microwaves back then) and have a peanut butter sandwhich ready for you at lunch.

No kid ever complained again of a lunch being stolen

 

[Bonnie]

My mom and other teacher bought bread to keep in the freezer and some peanut butter. They pulled Sam aside and said 'we realize you take the bus early in the morning and could easily forget your lunch. if you tell us first thing in the morning, we could defrost some bread (no microwaves back then) and have a peanut butter sandwhich ready for you at lunch.

Your mom & mine would have gotten along great! When Mom was teaching 1st grade in a poor, rural area, she realized that many of the children were coming to school hungry. So she set up a hot plate (also before microwaves!), made cocoa and had a variety of crackers for the kids to eat. The kids were then able to pay attention to lessons instead of their empty stomachs.

 

[Gliggle]

Allegra that is a really good idea.

 

[Isca]

Do you have breakfast clubs for kids in the USA? We’ve had them for a long time here in the UK. Kids can get a free breakfast in most of them (and always if they are kids whose families qualify for free school meals). Juice, toast and cereal with milk makes a big difference to kids’ concentration and learning.

I have to say that when I was a primary school child in the 1960s, such things didn’t exist. However, we used to get a third of a pint of milk given to us at the first break-time (a national freebie, which was discontinued in the 1970s). One kid was always nominated as ‘milk monitor’ and would give out the little glass bottles and straws.

 

[Allegra]

Do you have breakfast clubs for kids in the USA? We’ve had them for a long time here in the UK. Kids can get a free breakfast in most of them (and always if they are kids whose families qualify for free school meals). Juice, toast and cereal with milk makes a big difference to kids’ concentration and learning.

I have to say that when I was a primary school child in the 1960s, such things didn’t exist. However, we used to get a third of a pint of milk given to us at the first break-time (a national freebie, which was discontinued in the 1970s). One kid was always nominated as ‘milk monitor’ and would give out the little glass bottles and straws.

Our school serves breakfast and lunch everyday. Breakfast is free to all students and while lunch is only free to those who qualify, if there is a student with no lunch they are given a lunch. That’s why I suspect the food is being taken to be eaten at home or outside of school hours.