CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Rhode Island school district is getting a lot of backlash for serving students with unpaid lunch bills a cold sunflower butter and jelly sandwich.
Some people are accusing the school of lunch shaming students.
"A cold peanut butter and jelly sandwich is not a nutritious meal," said Dallas, N.C. resident Darlene Guile.
"I'm sure some people would say they're getting something, and something is better than nothing, but you wouldn't want to live off of PB and J every day," said Megan Harkavy of Matthews.
In Lancaster County, schools don't have an alternative lunch program.
"I just never saw a good, concrete reason to do another meal," said Angela McCrorey, director of food services.
The district still has unpaid bills, but families are dealt with on a case by case basis.
"It's an issue we're always going to have," McCrorey said.
There's also no alternative in Union County.
In Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, students will always get a full meal. In fact, many CMS schools have free lunch.
But in Fort Mill, a different meal is offered. District officials said it meets nutritional standards and avoids calling attention to the students.
"Something is better than nothing," said Keaton Rhinehardt.
"To think well and perform at your best you need to be well fed," Molly Brice said.
In Lancaster County, several organizations help pay overdue bills at the end of the school year.