HUGHESVILLE -- A high school student in Lycoming County found an unwelcome guest in his cafeteria lunch Monday afternoon: a bug!
A picture snapped by a student at Hughesville High School shows he got a little more than he expected in the lunch he bought in the school cafeteria. On close inspection, it appears to be a worm or maggot.
Word spread throughout the school after that picture quickly went viral on social media.
“I saw it on a Snapchat story,” said junior Dylan Lawson. "I was sitting in economics class and just looked at my phone and there was a worm in someone's popcorn chicken bowl. Honestly, I think that's disgusting.”
“I just saw a picture about it during sixth period, just thought it was disgusting,” said senior Dalton Clarkson.
“I saw it on Snapchat and Instagram and I just think it was disgusting, to be honest,” said senior Jacob Hoffman.
The East Lycoming School District superintendent confirmed a corn earworm was found in the student's lunch.
Superintendent Michael Pawlik said:
“At the end of our high school lunch period, a student showed a cafeteria worker a bug that they had found in their 'popcorn chicken bowl'. A ‘popcorn chicken bowl’ consists of mashed potatoes, mixed with corn and topped with popcorn chicken and gravy. After the student showed the cafeteria staff the bug, they stopped serving the popcorn chicken entrée.
“After investigating, it is our belief that the bug was actually a corn ear worm that came in the USDA federal subsidized corn commodity. We have since filed a complaint form with the USDA.”
Students say they knew this wasn't the fault of anyone working in the cafeteria.
“I know the lunch ladies very well and they're all really nice people,” said Lawson. “I know that they would never intentionally do that or anything. They're all really nice people here.”
“To be honest, the lunch ladies are very nice, and I know one of them and they don't do that stuff,” said Hoffman.
The student who found the corn earworm in his lunch asked not to be identified.
