Four employees were fired from a Massachusetts middle school after denying students lunch on Friday, ABC News reports.
About two dozen students at Coelho Middle School in Attleboro, were reportedly denied lunches because their prepaid meal accounts ran low.
Some students were even told to throw away their lunches once they reached the checkout area. The decision made by the lunchroom employees enraged parents, who claimed many children were left hungry and crying.
"There is a zero tolerance for any individual who leaves a child hungry," said Todd Shapiro, a spokesman for Whitsons Culinary Group, the company who supplies the school lunches.
Whitson's later apologized further, saying that the conduct displayed by the cafeteria staff goes against company policy.
The culinary group is in charge of feeding students in fifth through eighth grade.
As a sign of good-will, Whitson's said that the company will be giving free lunch to students for three days next week and will also host a barbeque for the students and families.
"There is nothing we take more seriously than the health and welfare of the children and families we serve, providing them with the nutrition they need so that they have the sustenance to engage in their studies on a daily basis," said Marketing Vice President Holly van Seggern. "The fact that some of these boys and girls were denied access to their lunches is inexcusable."
She also said that the company is taking steps to ensure no student will be denied lunch again and that they will notify parents when the account balance is low in the future.
