Daycare Refused To Let Little Girl Eat Lunch Because The Meat Wasn't "Halal"

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When we send our children off to daycare or school, we do so with the belief that whoever is taking care of them there will keep them safe, happy, well-fed, and protected...just as we would do ourselves. That's why the process of choosing a caretaker or school for a child is so arduous. You simply want to make sure that when they leave your care for eight hours a day, they're getting the very best treatment from the kindest of people.

But sometimes, things get mixed up. Rules are ignored, miscommunication happens, and suddenly, your child comes back home from school with some complaints. That's what happened to mom Yasmin Jackson when her daughter came home from school, complaining that she was hungry because she hadn't eaten all day. When she investigated the issue, the whole thing spiraled out of control faster than it should have, and it landed the daycare in quite a bit of controversy.

This is Yasmin Jackson and her daughter Amari.

Until recently, Jackson sent Amari to the Kingswood Daycare Nursery, close to their home in Scotland.

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However, Jackson pulled her daughter out after learning something disturbing.

And the entire thing centered around the girl's lunch.

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On this particular day at school, Amari came with a regular packed lunch.

It contained chicken salad, bread sticks, humus, a bit of chocolate and some fruit.

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But apparently, she wasn't allowed to eat it.

When mom Jackson picked Amari up, she said she was hungry because she wasn't allowed to eat her lunch that day.

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Outraged, Jackson wanted to know why.

She asked one of the managers why her daughter had been denied her own lunch and given other food instead (food she refused to eat).

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The daycare worker told her that it was because they weren't sure if the meat was halal. This caused Jackson to post an outcry on her social media, claiming that the school had starved her child for not having halal choices.

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So what is halal food, exactly? Here's a great description for anyone who is curious about this lifestyle.

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There are specific methods of preparation that go into halal meat. Butchering is a different process entirely, depending on if meat is halal, kosher, or non-religious.

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Halal delis serve only halal meats. And much like in Jewish kosher diets, certain halal items aren't to be co-mingled with non-halal foods.

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But when it comes to this nursery situation, something didn't add up.

The nursery isn't specifically halal, nor does it outline halal dietary restrictions on their website.

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Still, Jackson remains incensed. "I said we are a Christian family and it was a chicken sandwich. And she said we don't allow any non-halal meat in the nursery. So I thought this is just ridiculous."

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The nursery uses a private contractor, Zebedee's, to provide their meals. But again, while there are concessions for halal and dietary guidelines, it's certainly not posted that it's required anywhere.

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The manager of the school categorically denied that any of this ever happened.

They said that it simply did not happen, and they tried their best to subdue Jackson's anger

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She did, however, decide to remove her daughter from the school afterall.

Starving her young daughter, for whatever reason, was simply unacceptable.

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Overall, this seems like a dimple miscommunication and then the entire thing spiraled out of control.

"This is all complete rubbish," said an anonymous source at the school. "We do not only allow halal meat to be eaten. It is not true and it has all been blown out of proportion with people spreading lies."