South Jersey parents concerned over school district's new lunch program

GLOUCESTER CITY, New Jersey (WPVI) -- A school in South Jersey is creating a bit of controversy.

A new program ostensibly designed to help kids buy their lunches has led to some alarm from parents.

In a recent letter to parents, the Gloucester City School District said it'll be implementing Biometric Screenings in the Cold Springs Elementary School third grade cafeteria.

The devices, they say, allow for automated payment, allowing kids to simply scan their fingers, rather than try to remember pin numbers.

Once they scan, the system charges whatever account is linked to them.

Some parents have expressed concerns regarding security.

Action News reached out to the school district, who says, "at no time is a fingerprint image stored."

They say the devices remember four points on a child's finger, and each time he or she scans it, the software looks for a match in its own database.

All that information, they say, is converted to a unique number and securely stored.

The program is set for a district wide roll-out.

It launches in that one cafeteria next month.