Two Washoe County School District Lunch Assistants Arrested For Giving Leftover Food To Seniors

 

 

Maheen found a blog post from a husband upset that his wife who worked as a school lunch assitants in Nevada was arrested for giving left over food to seniors. I was only able to find one news story about it (video above and article)

Here is the post one of the women's husband wrote:

"I'm not a happy camper right now. My wife's assistant in the school lunch room, where they've both worked for over 7 years, was arrested yesterday for felony embezzlement. You know why? Because she took leftover unopened food the kids didn't eat and instead of throwing it in the dumpster as they've been directed, she had the audacity to pack it in ice and take it to a local senior center for seniors, living only on social security, to eat. They set her bail at $10k! This is a 60 something loving and caring women!

"What is the Washoe County School District trying to prove here?

"What makes this even worse, is that the federal government just passed a bill in November of 2011 absolving school districts across the United States from any liability involving the donation of uneaten / unopened food. Apparently, Washoe County School District has chosen to ignore this new law. Coincidentally, this article recently ran in our local paper:

"So now we wait to see if my wife is going to be arrested as well. This whole situation disgusts me. My wife and her assistant are two of the most caring, giving, loving women I know. They don't get paid enough to be subjected to this kind of treatment...Felony Embezzlement? Doesn't it seem obvious that when you know there are people in need, you would do what you could to help them? We're talking seniors that don't have enough money to feed themselves! What has this world come to?

"Oh, great...just got the call. I have to take Darla down to the jail to get booked. This is absolute BS!!!

Please share this. I want people to be aware of this injustice!!!"

CLICK HERE TO GO TO BLOG POST AND LEAVE COMMENT

Here is the news article via 4 News:

RENO, NV (KRNV & mynews4.com) –Two women who work for nutrition services with the Washoe County School District have been arrested, accused of embezzlement. According to the police report, Darla Cates, 49, and Robin Boyer, 59, were taking food from the school cafeteria since December 2011. The chief of police for the Washoe County School District, Mike Mieras, says during the interview process, both suspects admitted they were using the items for personal use.

“They clearly knew what they were doing was wrongdoing and not only were they giving it to family and friends, but they also through self-admission, were using it for personal use as well,” says Mieras.

But according to the family of Darla Cates, the women were giving the food to underprivileged seniors. The family tells News 4 the women do not want to speak on camera due to legal reasons. I told them that the police report claims both Darla and Robin confessed to using the food for personal use. But the family adamantly denies that fact.

The family points to a provision to the Good Samaritan Act which was signed into law in November 2011. It protects school districts from being held liable if food is donated to food banks in good faith. But the head of nutrition services tells me, the Good Samaritan Act does not apply in this case because the majority of the food taken was not expired, so the food could have been given to students in the school district.

via www.mynews4.com

Comments

[The Last Archimedean]

The DA should order their release at once, all charges should be dropped and they should be given a medal.

This is just ridiculous.

[photoslave]

I get that they didn't have permission, but calling it embezzlement? There was no money lost/gained on either side. The food was doomed to the dumpster where it would go to waste. These ladies didn't sell the food. They gave it to those who needed it. At the most, they should just get written up/suspended WITH PAY for not getting permission.

[CashierBtch]

So if its not expired and the kids aren't going to eat it, throw it out. But if it is expired, you can't give it to the kids, but its perfectly ok to give it to seniors. Hows about you ask the kids what they want to do with the food, seeing as how its supposed to be for them. Pretty sure they'd agree with what the lunch ladies did.

[Flo]

Making up your mind after hearing one version of a story is not a very clever idea. The newspaper article includes the possibility, that the food was also taken for personal reasons. And in any case, it was a stupid move. Of course, donating the leftovers may be the best and most reasonable idea, but that doesn't mean that you can simply do it. If you want to do something like that, why don't you simply ASK before you do it? Everything else is just begging for trouble.

[angie]

This is ridiculous! My mom works in my old high school in the cafeteria and they ALWAYS let her take stuff home, particularly if it's a Friday. She has never gotten into any trouble for it and I don't see any reason why these women should either.

[DrugStore Diva]

With so many people going hungry, it really pisses me off that they'd rather throw out perfectly good food rather than donate it and help end hunger. If I lived in this district I'd be at the offices raising hell, for such excessive waste and demanding these women have all charges dropped. What lesson is this giving the kids? Don't donate food, you might get arrested.

[hiedi]

Maybe the smart thing here was to approach their boss and say look this food is doomed for the dumpster but still fit to eat. Can we give it to the Senior Center?

I know at my kid's high school the lunch ladies were fed up with the excess food they were having to throw out that was still good. While policy and local food code laws prevented them from wrapping it up themselves and handing it over to the Senior Center, the school district did reach a middle ground.

They now allow Second Harvest to come in once a week during the school year to each of the schools in the district to gather up any unused food doomed for the dumpster for the county Meals on Wheels program.

Maybe this is how they should have done it instead of on their own.

[Framer-Fatal]

So glad that we're taking care of the prison overcrowding problem by cracking down on hardened criminals like these two ladies!
Give me a damn break. If I was a kid at that school I'd be raising hell. Suspension, in my book, is a nobel thing when it comes with a side of social justice. Like a lot of stupid public schools, this one is clearly run by a few idiots on a power trip with no common sense.

[The Worst]

This is just disgusting. Sure, the ladies could have asked for permission. BUT the school could have talked to them, restated the policy, given them a warning, SOMETHING other than having them arrested! If my kids went to that school, I'd be pulling them out. Two women try to help others, make the world a better place, and this is how they are repaid?

Is there a petition? A rally? A protest? I would like to protest. Loudly.

[Mcarp555]

I agree with Flo and Hiedi - why didn't they ask first? For all *we* know, the two women were stocking their own pantries first, THEN taking what's left to the Seniors. Sure the families are denying that; how would it go down if they were 'stealing' the food for themselves?

But, I don't have all the facts in this case. I'm sure there's more to it than the one-sided view we're seeing here. The moral of this story is "no good deed goes unpunished".

[NC Tony]

Yes, it was a nice thing they were doing, but there is also the insinuation that they were taking some of the food for themselves, so it may not be so noble as they're making it out to be.

[Ted the 'Flayer]

Until the police PROVE beyond a REASONABLE DOUBT that they used the food for personal use IN A COURT OF LAW, then THEY DIDN'T. That is literally one of the first things they teach in elementary school civics. It's a shame that more people here are forgetting the most basic part of our justice system.

[bitterbookaddict]

When I used to work at Subway I would give the homeless guys left over bread so they would have something to eat, it was to be thrown away anyway, so I figures whu not.
Nope I got chewed out by management.
I just put in a seperate bag and gave it to them at the back door in stead where there were no cameras.
And I do not feel guilty about it!

[Relic]

while i dont agree with it, thats how these things work. The food belonged to the school district, they said to put it in the dumpster, which is their right to do. if you took food past the sell by date (but still good since its not expired) from the grocery store you worked at it would be stealing.Its the same thing in a cafeteria, or a resturant. (and fyi,embezzlement: the fraudulent appropriation of funds or property entrusted to your care but actually owned by someone else.) also, while they may have passed a law saying that schools are not liable for donated food, that doesnt mean they are required to donate food. and even with the removal of liability there are very strict regulations put in place for schools to donate anything, everything was bought using taxpayer dollars, they need to be accounted for. since the food was donated instead of destroyed that actually puts the school in a position to use a portion of the cost of the food as a tax write off under charitable donation. but by not properly donating the food the school has lost the opprotunity to do so. we may not like the laws, but we must follow the law or be held accountable.

also, to the person who said they should get a suspension with pay? thats the stupidest thing ive ever heard. yes, lets give them a week of paid vacation as a punishment.

[hiedi]

I agree relic-the school gets federal dollars (or, our tax dollars)

They have to account for all the food. Need more food? They have to prove they need it. Not using all food they are allotted to have? Then they get less money for food.

Schools have to prove how much they are throwing away, and why it is being thrown away to not get questioned by the federal government as to why the food is not going to students.

If a school is going give away food to charity then they need to be able to prove that.

Yes a school is allowed to donate unused food/food doomed for the dumpster. But they need to be able to say to the state and federal government that gives them money to buy the food for students there was not enough product for the students to use/it was close to the expiring or it was already cooked but not served/eaten.

So there's forms the school needs to fill out. And if they wish to get tax breaks on the donated items, they need those forms filled out. Also, a non profit like Second Harvest and/or Meals on Wheels needs to keep track of what donations come from for tax purposes.

Yes a non profit does have to pay taxes just like the rest of us. They also have the ability to sign off on the school's forms to say yes such and such school or district gave us this much-making it easier for the district to claim a charitable donation.

Rules and Regulations are there for a reason-to protect people like these ladies, schools and non profits.

A total nightmare at times? Completely stupid at times as well? I'll be the first to admit a loud hell yes. But they are there to in an attempt to protect every one.

[Nocturnesthesia]

Yeah, we get the point of laws and bureaucratic red tape. It doesn't make these "zero-tolerance" policies any less fucking stupid.

[photoslave]

Relic, I don't appreciate my opinion being called stupid. If you don't agree with someone's ideas/opinions, you should just say "I don't agree." This is a public forum, and good manners should be used.

[Nick]

So long story short, helping hungry old people with unused food from a school is against the law and a jailable offense.

First world problems. . . .

I wonder what THIRD world countries do.

[Larry Berry]

"The food belonged to the school district, they said to put it in the dumpster, which is their right to do."

True, but that brings up another good point. Once they said to put it in the dumpster, they had relinquished ownership of it. At that point it no longer belonged to the school district.

[Relic]

actually ownership is not relinquished until it is picked up by the trash collectors (since it was still in the schools dumpster, change of storage doesnt change the pocession), im not sure about florida, but california has very strict anti dumpster diving laws, also once food has been placed into the dumpster it is considered a health hazard to feed it to anyone, so if they were pulling the food out of the dumpster its still theft, but with the added health and human services violations from feeding food considered a healh hazard to the elderly

and calling it a stupid idea was using good manners, a week of paid vacation is considered a reward (at least to most people, if you would rather be at work thats fine too i suppose)stating that your going to give someone a reward because they did something wrong is incredibly stupid. then they will just do it again.

[Whatchamacallit]

@photoslave - I think you got off lightly being called stupid.

[Humor_Me]

Oh for Christ's Sake! Why can't the school work with these women? Why can't they say, "Listen, we understand your your good intentions, but this is why you can't do it... Until we work this out, we're going to have to ask you to stop. If it works out, great. If it doesn't, I'm really sorry. Why don't we take this to [local bureaucracy] and see if we can't make this happen? I'm sure if we all work together, everyone will have a satisfactory result."

Arrest just doesn't seem like the first course of action.

[Patrick]

I have just found your blog by way of Pat P. Congrats on your new book to be. Its enjoyable to see the boys and you two. I still keep those Stones in my prreyas. Your happiness is contaigous ..Snow here tonight (hope it melts by morning), my petunias don't like it! Love to you all.