Should free school lunch programs be continued?

[msc545]

These are programs wherein children who liv at the poverty level are provided with lunch at school and not charged for it. There is a movement to discontinue these programs.

Updates

+1 y

At some point, someone will come in here and whine "Nothing is Free! Somebody has to pay for it! Are you willing to pay for all of it?"

[Lunatic1]

I think that free/discount lunches should always be available. The biggest reason that they tend to get discontinued is that the school loses funding due to poor test scores.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Yes, I agree with continuing free meals for school students who are considered poverty levels.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

@msc545 When I was in Middle School through High School, the years 1983-86, we qualified for free lunches because my father claimed he could not find work. But my late uncle was foreman down the steel mill and had pull could have got my father hired. He had no work but worked off of his welfare for providing for us.

[msc545]

I am glad you were well-cared for!

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

@msc545 Thank you, well mom did her best and dad did what he could!

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Thanks for MHO :)

[exitseven]

I was the technology director of a school system in a fairly affluent town. The government would reimburse the district for internet wiring that was done. It was tied to the percentage of students that qualified for free lunches. When I heard that I figured we would not get anything since it was sort of an expensive town to live in. I was surprised to find that almost 75% of the students qualified for the program.

These programs are worthwhile when administered correctly but there is too much fraud and waste that makes it a bad deal for taxpayers.

They should continue but maybe do a better job in policing it.

[msc545]

Okay but why aren't you worried about fraud and waste Perpetrated by defense contractors? Why do they get a pass from you and nobody else does?

[exitseven]

@msc545 When I was in basic training I saw plenty of waste close up. I think that you would have to completely blow up the military and start from scratch.

[msc545]

Why aren't you complaining about this like you do about petty theft?

[exitseven]

The military water pales to the amount of money that will be aquandered on all the illegal aliens Biden has let into thr country. 35,000-50,000 per person per year. Multiply that n. by 5000000 illegal aliens and we are talking real numbers.

[BoopBoopBeep]

I'm with @exitseven. I suspect most opponents of the program are actually like minded. "These programs are worthwhile when administered correctly but there is too much fraud and waste that makes it a bad deal for taxpayers." I think some of the opponents have just given up on it being properly policed so they're ready to burn it to the ground. I don't think there are very many out there who would begrudge the $2 or less it should actually cost to feed a kid.

I also vote no on every school tax, so... my opinion is probably worth what I charge for it.

[lightbulb27]

Depends what is in that lunch. I support feeding poor kids… but with wuality food.
Get citizems to cool large pots if beans rice etc and serve. Fruits and veg if available or what the kids and comminity grew in their gardens. Stop the gd stupidity to feed them some of the stuff i see on school menus that make michelle obama puke.

[goaded]

My daughter feeds large numbers of children frequently, 30 to 400, and she can do it for ridiculously small amounts of money, and it's healthy stuff.

[lightbulb27]

@goaded that's good to hear! better to teach kids to better self sustain. decades of theft of real things... land and reliance on others means many at risk.

[goaded]

Oh, hell yes. Ideally, they should provide free school meals to every child, so that there's no discrimination. (Alternatively, every child should only be allowed to pay by a card that is indistinguishable between the parents who will pick up the bill and the others that need the help.)

[strateguy632]

this question ignores the big picture. the government has been on the verge of shutdown due to DEBT and debt limit ceiling. if money would go to students INSTEAD of ukraine yes but not in the current situation of debt and raising taxes.

[msc545]

Actually, where I live in California, schools are largely funded by monies that are generated by the state lottery. Unfortunately most of that money goes to useless school administration instead of something useful like school lunches for children. If we just stopped diverting money to the pet programs of school district administrators. We could solve this problem very quickly but of course that's not going to happen. So children go hungry so that school officials can work on there little projects that have no practical value.

[Static_In_The_Attic]

Free it should be when it comes to public schools & free it should be for all students to make it fair.

[Briscole]

Yes, but all kids should get the free meals.

[msc545]

That's a very good point. People that object to free school meals for any children always bring up this point and note that means testing for free meals make some children feel discriminated against. I think they are right about this and I think if you're going to give free meals to any children you really must give them to every child when requested.

[Briscole]

I used to live near a city that did the math, and it's actually cheaper to make the busses free, than to charge. I bet it's the same with those school lunches.

[msc545]

It might be although instinctively it's difficult to see how I'm sure you're probably right.

[Briscole]

The buses need a mechanism to take debit cards, money or bus passes. Someone has to empty the money out. Someone has to account for the money. Someone has to take the cash to the bank. It was just cheaper to let people ride for free.

I worked in a grade school cafeteria as a cook and the cashier. There were a few really poor kids, and their parents were too lazy to sign them up for the free lunches. Rather than embarrass the kids by grilling them, I just told them to move down the line. They smiled and probably got the only meal of the day.
I got busted for it once, but that was a nothing burger. I asked the principal what he would have done in my position. He turned red and didn't answer. I couldn't let that 7 year old girl go away hungry.

[Daniela1982]

YES! For a lot of kids that is the only decent meal they get in a day.

[RealMarek]

Of course nothing is free, but cutting school lunches for poor children is not going to solve the debt problem.

[ProbablyClueless]

100%! Free school lunch programs are some of the most important social programs that exist.

[Anonymous]

They should continue. For a lot of these kids it might be the only healthy meal they get or meal at all.

[Paris13]

For Those Who Reallyyyyy Qualify. xxoo

[noohair]

Economics 101 will tell you nothing is free. Someone pays. Do you work for free?

[msc545]

I was waiting for someone to pose this question. It seemed almost inevitable that somebody would because somebody always does. So thank you. I suppose. The answer to your question is the tax dollars typically pay for the food that goes into free school lunches for children. This includes my tax dollars and I don't mind at all since I feel like this is a good use of the money that I give to the government. Involuntarily. I think it's implicit in the question I asked. But thank you for asking your question.

[jahaims]

It was sometimes my only meal as a kid.

[Still-alive]

absolutely

[Still-alive]

"Are you willing to pay for all of it?" "

To which my answer is always "Yes im willing to pay higher taxes to make life better for everyone. thats a humane thing to do!"