HIALEAH, FLORIDA – APRIL 22: Food items are seen in a vehicle after city workers and volunteers place them there during a food distribution setup at Hialeah Gardens High School on April 22, 2020 in Hialeah Gardens, Florida. The food distribution was put on by Farm Share and members of the citys government to help people trying to make ends meet during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)Florida Parents Busted for Selling Free School Meals Online Like a number of districts around the country, Florida's Hillsborough County School District continued supplying students with lunches after schools were shuttered due to the coronavirus.
Yet despite careful planning, the state's "Grab-and-Go" meal program kept falling short on prepared meals -- and now officials know why. It turns out a number of parents had been visiting multiple schools during lunchtime and picking up several meals -- which they then sold on social media, says Hillsborough Schools Superintendent Addison Davis. "We had some individuals who made undesired behaviors last week, but we stand ready with new organizational controls," he says.
Those "controls" involve a computer system that keeps track of which students pick up meals, Davis says. Parents are now required to give their child's school I.D. number, which is entered into the system before the meal is handed over, he says.
And it appears to be working. Since setting up the system earlier this week, the district has turned away at least 40 parents who'd already picked up their children's lunches, Davis reports. Is there a big market for buying free school lunches online? What could these parents be telling themselves to rationalize their actions?
