A Fox News guest on Thursday argued that hungry students would have a "teaching moment" if they were refused access in the cafeteria line to school lunches because their parents hadn't properly filled out the right paperwork.
During a segment on Fox & Friends, therapist and school counselor Thomas Kersting told host Gretchen Carlson that he approved of a New Jersey school district's plan to reportedly "throw the meal away" if kids didn't have enough money to pay for lunch.
"I agree with the superintendent," he said. "I think it's a little harsh. You know, I don't think they're going to throw the food out right in front of the kid and embarrass the kid."
Kersting explained that some parents had allegedly told their children to accept the lunches before the paperwork had been completed and filed, and so the Willingboro School District had decided not to feed students unless their parents had signed the proper forms and been enrolled in the Free and Reduced Lunch program.
Carlson asked Kersting if he "had a problem with the fact that the kids ultimately end up being punished in this situation when it really is the parents' fault."
"Again, I think it is misleading that the kids are going to be punished," Kersting replied. "We have more food than any other nation. You know, no kid is going to starve. You know, if one day a kid doesn't have lunch, right, maybe that's a teaching moment when that kid doesn't have lunch. That may sound harsh saying that, but we've got to get people to start being responsible for themselves."
"I can tell you from almost 20 years working in a school district, they're not going to make the kids starve. That's just kind of like a big warning to the parents," he added. "And I have kids come to me, I give kids money all the time. And I'm broke from doing that over the years. No, I'm kidding."
