Over 11,000 cases of chicken wings were ordered using the school’s funds between July 2020 and February 2022, according to prosecutors in the US city of Chicago.

Vera Liddell, who was director of food services at the school at the time, is alleged to have placed and collected the unauthorised orders — but prosecutors do not know what she did with the food, which was not brought to the school.

The school, as a matter of policy, does not serve chicken wings because they contain bones.

The bizarre scheme began during the pandemic when schools were closed and continued until a routine audit discovered that the food service department was more than $300,000 over its annual budget in the middle of the year, CBS reports.

Liddell has been charged with financial crimes and theft exceeding $1m (£810k). She has not yet entered a plea.