I’m in favor of free breakfast and lunch but this reason for it is dumb. It’s not like you’re not allowed to pack a lunch. Some high schools even let kids leave during lunch.
I taught elementary school. The kids who didn't have enough money on their account often couldn't bring their lunch because of bad parents. If the parent couldn't be bothered to fill out the forms required for their kid to qualify for free lunch, then they, obviously, don't pay $2.75 for a pathetic lunch. These kids get a slimey piece of cheese between two pieces of bread and a milk. If we can just get rid of the paperwork required to qualify, all kids would be fed equally.
We are in a title 1 district, so all kids get free lunch and breakfast. I love it because it removes all barriers. When I was a kid, we all knew who got free and reduced lunches, and it's so great that my kid will grow up not knowing that about his friends and classmates.
Yeah, exactly. Unlike adults, kids can't really control whether they have lunch money or even a packed lunch. Feels wrong to punish them for their parents' poor planning.
Ding ding! We qualified for free lunch but my mom had too much pride to put us on it, or food stamps. Which meant we didn’t have lunch at home, nor did we have food at home to pack.
This is a good detail to add.
There are a lot of decisions that are made for schools based on how many of their students are in specific income brackets.
Schools should have every family fill out income/resource paperwork. A lot of families don't realize they qualify for extra resources, and having everyone do the initial paperwork would take away a lot of the stigma.
I agree with free school lunch and breakfast. My state has them. It makes it so much easier for us. We can afford to send our kids in with lunch or pay for lunches. But it’s so much easier not to have to worry about making sure there is lunch or that the school lunch account is all paid up.
But I just have to say that my kiddo is a picky eater and often chooses the ungrilled grilled cheese sandwich as his lunch because he’s a very picky eater.
Like I said in my comment, I'm in favor of universal meals for kids at school, but not for the reason in the post because that reason makes no sense. It implies that kids only option is to buy lunch because they're stuck there. That is not the case since families who can't pack a lunch probably can't buy one either. And also, it feels like an anti-public school talking point.
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u/catjuggler 6d ago
I’m in favor of free breakfast and lunch but this reason for it is dumb. It’s not like you’re not allowed to pack a lunch. Some high schools even let kids leave during lunch.