Particularly egregious were the practices at the United Church Brandon school in the late 1930s, where some whole milk was fed to the school's cattle herd and the remainder separated, with the skim milk going to the children and the cream made into butter for the staff dining table. 'Beef dripping is our substitute for butter for the pupils,' noted investigators at Brandon. Lard was another common butter replacement on refectory tables at many of the schools.

      A final factor compounding the students' revulsion at their food was the attitude and behaviour of some staff members when the young people manifested their displeasure. The Micmac student at Shubenacadie whose kitchen assignment alerted her to avoid the green liver later in the day watched what happened to classmates who became ill. When one boy who asked to be excused was interrogated by a Sister of Charity about his reason, he reported that he and others were sick because they had been served bad meat. He was punished for his candour. On another occasion at the same school, a girl who was unable to swallow some soggy bread vomited on her plate. The sister supervising the dining room 'pushed her face into it and made her eat her vomit. She was very fat and brutal. The vomit trailed on the floor, then the Sister ... lifted her dress and strapped her bare behind.'

      Anglican staff at the Pelican Lake school near Sioux Lookout, Ontario, responded no less viciously when a number of their students complained to their parents about feeling hungry after meals. The parents took the complaint to the Indian Affairs office in Sioux Lookout, which passed the matter on to school authorities. Next, recalled a former student, the principal came to the girls' common room and asked all who were hungry to put their hands up. Most girls did. Kitchen staff then wheeled in a cart filled with bread that the students were required to consume without spread or beverage. 'We were fed until we didn't want any more.' Then another trolley with a small amount of bread with jam, honey, and peanut butter was wheeled into the common room. The kitchen help buttered bread with jam, honey, or peanut butter for the minority of girls who had not complained to consume in front of the others. Recalled one student, 'We were hurt very much, and that sure cured us to not complain about being hungry.'