Dolton-Calumet City Elementary School District 149 has informed parents a mealworm was found this week on a middle school table where students were eating lunch.
Rumors circulated on social media of students coming home sick after finding bugs in their spaghetti.
However, District 149 Superintendent Maureen White said Thursday she received no reports of children falling ill and the single mealworm found on the table did not come from the kitchen.
“There was absolutely no mealworm in the food or in the food supply, and not even where the food is prepared,” White said. “It was a hoax.”
White said students told her the mealworm was brought to the table as part of a social media challenge. However, she said the district took “precautionary measures” to sanitize the cabinets where food trays are stored and clean tables more frequently.
“We’re just doing an extra clean to assure that there are no bugs of any kind getting on the table,” White said.
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