This makes sense. Free lunch. No strings attached. Every kid gets one. Some might even say it is a good way to make America a more “Christian” nation. đ
Here is Paul Waldman:
Consider the remarkable concept of âlunch debt,â with which a student is burdened when their parents havenât been able to put enough money into their school account. When they get to the front of the line in the cafeteria, they might be told that because of their debt, they can have only a jelly sandwich (no hot meal for you, Oliver Twist). In some cases, kids have been forced to wear stamps or wristbands so staff (and their peers) know who they are.
How should we solve this problem? One option would be to take the already complex system through which children in public schools are fed and layer more complexity on top of it. Set up a few new means-tested programs, create funding streams that school districts can apply for, offer some grants.
Or we could just give every kid lunch.
And breakfast too, for those who want it. Imagine: Children just walking into the cafeteria and getting fed. No accounts that parents have to keep up, no time spent assessing familiesâ incomes or processing payments or running down parents who havenât paid â no âlunch shamingâ â none of that. Kids just eat.
Thatâs what Michigan has now done: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has signed an education bill providing free meals for every public school student. Michigan is now the seventh state to offer this benefit, joining California, Colorado, Minnesota, Maine, New Mexico and Vermont.
Read the rest here.
Yes, please. I have taught in a school that provided both free breakfast and free lunch for 100% of students, regardless of need (most had serious need). This practice improved the classroom community and enabled children to work and learn in a positive environment. Thank you to Michigan and other states enacting this benefit.
I think the opposition to this is best detailed in Michelle McGhee’s book the Sum of Us about how some people are more interested in preventing the “unworthy” from getting a benefit than helping those who need a benefit.
There was a school board that had universal lunch program and it actually saved the district money by doing it, but the board removed the program, costing the district money because the board members felt like it was helping families that did not need the help.