'No one believes we do this to kids': Will Congress end school lunch shaming?

[supermage]

http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/15/news...-story-summary

This is despicable. Very disappointed that this wasn't a major issue in the recent elections.

Indeed. I am shocked this country has not gone to the free lunch route yet. We already give kids a free education. Might as well do lunch too.
Lunch shaming is something I had to suffer. I'll never forget when my Mom was struggling and gave me change to buy lunch. One of the coins was a Susan b Anthony coin. The school would not accept that coin as currency. So I had to starve that day. sigh......

[Halicia]

Would have to be at the school itself. As desipicable as that sounds, junkie parents will often sell freebies given to their kids for more drugs.

Oh, yeah... absolutely.

Any school lunch program... during the school year or otherwise... should be done cafeteria style. Aside from the "junkie parent" potential, its simply cheaper & more labor efficient to cook in bulk.

[Super Kami Dende]

IN Australia, you bring your own Lunch or you HAVE to pay for the cafeteria Food. If you are Poor or have no lunch, well that's your problem to figure out generally.

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Why do I think we should educate and feed our children at the same basic level regardless of geographic location? Really?

"why should I eat McDonalds when that guy over there is eating a Steak, we should get the same!"

[spanishninja]

Why do I think we should educate and feed our children at the same basic level regardless of geographic location? Really?

Educating children is one thing, but feeding them is technically the duty of the parents, at least the paying part. What makes you think the government is responsible for this again?

[zealo]

Educating children is one thing, but feeding them is technically the duty of the parents, at least the paying part. What makes you think the government is responsible for this again?

Proper nutrition is highly related to the well being of a kids physical and mental development.

If they're not eating properly, because they just happened to be born to someone who for varying circumstances is not feeding them lunch, you're also doing their education a disservice.

[alucardtnuoc]

Here in Australia, we ALWAYS had to pay for hot lunches at school. And not some pathetic 2$ either, we'd have to pay close to 10$ for a hotdog. So we all brought food from home. Some select private schools offer free breakfasts and lunches, but no public school does.

Why do some Americans feel entitled to have free shit? I can understand wanting to have some programs in place for the legitimate poor kids that don't get their families to feed them, but free lunches for everybody sounds a tad absurd.

I went to public schools and you never paid anywhere near $10 for a hotdog, that is grossly exaggerated. I spent $5 a day on lunches, sometimes nothing because I wanted $10 to buy ice creams or other things like flavored milks like those honeycomb ones along with pizza/sausage rolls. (I got $50 to spend each week from doing chores around the house).

I agree on the second portion, but i think it may also depend on how much they are required to pay for schooling.

[Hooked]

Get rid of school lunches and make everyone bring a lunch from home.

[GreenJesus]

Get rid of school lunches and make everyone bring a lunch from home.

Assuming the household they are from has food in the house. Adults have the luxury of just going across the street and picking something up on lunch break. MOST schools trap the kids on the campus.

[Hooked]

Assuming the household they are from has food in the house. Adults have the luxury of just going across the street and picking something up on lunch break. MOST schools trap the kids on the campus.

If a parent cant pack a lunch or at least have food in the house to have their kids learn how to pack a lunch. Then what about breakfast and dinner?. Send your kid to school with a lunch it isn't that difficult it just takes being less lazy and irresponsible. If I walked into a supermarket and tried to walkout with some king crab legs without paying they would throw me in jail and keep the crab legs.

Another huge problem is parents giving their kids lunch money and the kids saving it instead of buying lunch.

[announced]

the shaming is stupid, just have kids pay up front so they dont waste food by throwing it in the trash.

[Hooked]

the shaming is stupid, just have kids pay up front so they dont waste food by throwing it in the trash.

That's the simplest solution for sure.

[Mackeyser]

don't have kids if you cant afford to take care of them

I've raised 4 kids through HS (my youngest graduated this year). I went to school in the 70's and early 80s. Things are different now.

By the way, do you know what your guaranteed finances are for the next 20 years? No? Well, neither does anyone else. I had a promising Naval career. Then got sick. I became one of the top multimedia engineers in the country. Then my sickness got worse.

Unless you have a crystal ball or can in some fashion KNOW the future, then the ignorance of that statement strains credulity.

Most people posting here about things like parenting or issues surrounding having children don't have the foggiest fucking clue what they're talking about.

Such is the case here.

As for some of the heartless reactions, I have found over my years that the heartless tend to be heartless until real tragedy befalls them, the kind of tragedy that simply cannot be overcome individually. THEN they have an epiphany and the heartlessness wanes.

My mother-in-law used to think I was a slacker because of my daily migraines. "why can't he just march through them". Over 20 years later, recovering from open heart surgery, she's been having daily headaches...not even migraines, just bad headaches. Now she knows some of what it's like to have head pain you can't escape from (and she IS taking opiates) and she's only had them for a few weeks. She has NO IDEA how I manage without opiates and have been for 25 freakin years. Her view of me has drastically changed. Notice, I didn't change, just her outlook.

It's a shame that life has to dick punch some folks before they snap out of it and recognize other people's humanity.

But...so it goes, I guess.

[Wikko]

No wonder why your education is in the shithole.

[Mackeyser]

Get rid of school lunches and make everyone bring a lunch from home.

Ever lived in Section 8 housing?

Ever lived in a homeless shelter. There are homeless students who go to school and sleep in a homeless shelter. Hundreds of thousands across the country, actually.

And in Section 8 housing, as a friend of mine found out, if the stove or fridge breaks, it can take MONTHS for them to be replaced. She had to put everything into a cooler and buy ice every other day. She sued the owner and it took until days before it went to trial before he finally replaced the fridge so he could say it was replaced in court.

Anyone who's ever been there knows, it ain't cheap being poor. I could give a list, but it's demoralizing how we treat one another in the US of A.

Bottom line is that not everyone can bring food from home.

In the Sixties, we had a War on Poverty and we really and truly got pretty damn close to ending it. Other than pockets in Appalachia and some inner cities, we had it pretty much licked. By 1972, we were really close... and then we weren't anymore. And it's gotten worse since.

[Hooked]

Ever lived in Section 8 housing?

Ever lived in a homeless shelter. There are homeless students who go to school and sleep in a homeless shelter. Hundreds of thousands across the country, actually.

And in Section 8 housing, as a friend of mine found out, if the stove or fridge breaks, it can take MONTHS for them to be replaced. She had to put everything into a cooler and buy ice every other day. She sued the owner and it took until days before it went to trial before he finally replaced the fridge so he could say it was replaced in court.

Anyone who's ever been there knows, it ain't cheap being poor. I could give a list, but it's demoralizing how we treat one another in the US of A.

Bottom line is that not everyone can bring food from home.

In the Sixties, we had a War on Poverty and we really and truly got pretty damn close to ending it. Other than pockets in Appalachia and some inner cities, we had it pretty much licked. By 1972, we were really close... and then we weren't anymore. And it's gotten worse since.

So your friend went without a refrigerator for months because her welfare housing didn't give her a new one right away?. You can easily find a used refrigerator for dirt cheap with some looking because the dump charges people almost 50 bucks to dump one due to the Freon removal costs.

[Zeek Daniels]

Its kinda weird that you pay taxes for schools and are forced to send your kid to a school but yet they dont feed you unless you pay again? I know it takes alot of money to make all that food for all those kids but if the parents are having to dish out more and more money every month might as well put it in the tax budget. When i was in school my parents wrote me a check for however much a basic lunch was times how ever many days are in a month. I would then have an account where i would tell the lunch lady to put that amount into my lunch account. I could then use that money when ever i bought food in a lunch line. I would often in my highschool years forgo getting a full lunch and get some cheaper snakes so i didnt run out of money as fast. I would also skip lunch entirely sometimes as i thought the food sucked.

From my own personal experience your not going to die if you miss lunch a few days a week.

[Flutterguy]

There are so many social programs for people that need help with paying for food, why is the school lunch program even necessary? Shouldn't they just bring food from home?

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I've raised 4 kids through HS (my youngest graduated this year). I went to school in the 70's and early 80s. Things are different now.

By the way, do you know what your guaranteed finances are for the next 20 years? No? Well, neither does anyone else. I had a promising Naval career. Then got sick. I became one of the top multimedia engineers in the country. Then my sickness got worse.

Unless you have a crystal ball or can in some fashion KNOW the future, then the ignorance of that statement strains credulity.

Most people posting here about things like parenting or issues surrounding having children don't have the foggiest fucking clue what they're talking about.

Such is the case here.

As for some of the heartless reactions, I have found over my years that the heartless tend to be heartless until real tragedy befalls them, the kind of tragedy that simply cannot be overcome individually. THEN they have an epiphany and the heartlessness wanes.

My mother-in-law used to think I was a slacker because of my daily migraines. "why can't he just march through them". Over 20 years later, recovering from open heart surgery, she's been having daily headaches...not even migraines, just bad headaches. Now she knows some of what it's like to have head pain you can't escape from (and she IS taking opiates) and she's only had them for a few weeks. She has NO IDEA how I manage without opiates and have been for 25 freakin years. Her view of me has drastically changed. Notice, I didn't change, just her outlook.

It's a shame that life has to dick punch some folks before they snap out of it and recognize other people's humanity.

But...so it goes, I guess.

So how involved should government be in the well being of humans?

[GreenGoldSharpie]

There are so many social programs for people that need help with paying for food, why is the school lunch program even necessary? Shouldn't they just bring food from home?

Because it's easier to breed'em than to raise'em.

Seriously, I actually work in education and I've seen enough abuse, neglect, and mental illness to know that what you're saying is completely absurd. Kids can't apply for social programs, and when their caregiver can't even muster the wherewithal to even see their youngest progeny to school -- leaving it to their fourteen year old -- I really can't see them applying for TANF, SNAP, or any other program.

Their kids are already at a severe disadvantage due to the instability they live with. I fail to see why we shouldn't at least give them some sort of chance, including feeding them.

[slime]

OMFG! DID THEY START SACRIFICING CHILDREN AT THE MOON GOD ALTER AGAIN?!?!?

oohh, school lunch shaming. That IS barbaric.

[Alydael]

http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/15/news...-story-summary

This is despicable. Very disappointed that this wasn't a major issue in the recent elections.

I think this is more of a local thing. In my state, even if you don't have any money at all- the child is given the lunch free. If you don't qualify for free lunch they send a bill home. I think the breakfast is totally free. Everyone gets the same food.

I just can't imagine an adult doing that to a child. If I worked there, even if they told me to do that- I wouldn't do it. That is just ridiculous.

I work in a job where we interact with children. I keep granola bars with me just in case the children are hungry because I do not know if they get enough food at home. I give them for free.