The James Logan Courier

by James Sarmiento, Courier Staff Writer


Administration has caught onto this under the table selling of lunch cards and has tried to crack down on the sellers. The consequence for first time offenders is detention; anytime after that, students are either suspended or are dealt with by the police. The reason why this is such a serious offense is because the lunch cards are school property, and it is illegal to sell school property for one’s own profit. Students who buy the lunch cards, will suffer similar consequences.

The ridiculous thing is even after facing these consequences, these sellers still continue to sell their lunch cards and people still continue to buy them on a daily basis.

Lunch cards will still be sold on a daily basis at the rate of students catching onto the trend of selling their cards or students buying the cards for cheaper from those students. Even with these punishments, being well known, received after being caught selling lunch cards, students still and will continue to sell the lunch cards.


Continue reading for an interview with a seller who asked to remain anonymous: Anonymous Seller: “I sell lunch cards in order to make some extra spending money. I sell them for $3 and sometimes $2 if I can’t find someone to sell to.”

C: How much money do you usually in about a week?

AS: “On a good week, I can make $15. I get my lunch for free and sell the cards for $3 and there are 5 days in a week, so $3 a day for 5 days is $15. I bring lunch from home so I still can eat.”

C: Are you aware of the consequences that you face by selling these lunch cards?

AS: “Yeah, my friend got caught earlier this year. I won’t get caught though because I try and sell in the first few minutes of lunch where its busiest and it is harder for the CSTs to see what’s happening.”

C: Will you to continue selling lunch cards for the rest of the school year?

AS: “Yeah, might as well. It’s easy money.”

It seems the reason why students with the benefit of free/reduced lunch sell their lunch cards is to make a profit. Students that have free/reduced typically come from a family with very little income, so in ways to make money for themselves is to sell their lunch cards. By bringing food from their home, they have something to eat while they get to keep the money they made from selling their school lunch. As long as there is a profit involved, the illegal selling of lunch cards will keep going forward and growing with each passing day.