Well said, @Tigerle. And I wasn’t being sarcastic, merely stating the end result. In all scenarios, the kids will be fed something, whether that is a cold lunch or hot lunch. Poor children (with forms filed) will always have their choice of things to eat, as they should.
I’m all for tracking parents down to assess the situation. Even at the high school level, sometimes parents just don’t know help is available especially if a parent loses a job or health issues come up.
I just draw the line at punishing any student for the crime of having lousy parents. That’s something they simply aren’t responsible for and likely can’t fix. Why make their situation worse?
Who among us likes being punished for things others do, or don’t do, especially when we can’t change the situation?
Fair enough, creekland, but then we should do the same for any fee based activity at public school-why should kids be denied a chance to go to Paris with the French class, or participate in athletics or the band trip, just because the parents are unwilling to pay? I am sure it is equally if not more shaming to be the only one who can’t participate in certain activities. And while many schools have booster clubs to help out in such situations, this isn’t about those asking for financial assistance, this is about those who don’t ask and won’t file the forms. It seems you should either pay for all the kids to have the exact same experience or do away with such things entirely.
Our school runs fundraisers for those - even for prom tickets. Any student can opt to do the fundraisers if they choose. I have pretzel sandwiches coming in on Tuesday to support a lass I know who wants to go on the French trip to France. I never asked if her folks could pay for it or not.
Many of us support all sorts of fundraisers. It’s our individual effort to be like Chobani.
I support fundraisers too, but I prefer to help out the needy. I don’t give to already wealthy institutions, for example, even if I recognize that particular college is a good cause. Too many other actually needy causes can benefit from my contribution, but you are free to do otherwise.
It’s not a punishment to refuse to sell things to people who do not pay.
It’s not the primary responsibility of the school to feed the child. (Some societies have decided it is. Fair enough).
It’s the primary responsibility of the parent or guardian. They can choose to send the money or send the food or, if unable to do so, send the form. Or pick up the phone. I believe that most parents will find that they are able to once the kid is not just handed food regardless of what the parents do.
If the parent or guardian are so unwilling or psychologically unable to ask for help that they’d rather have the child go hungry, they’ve got bigger problems and it’s time for social services to step in. As long as the kids are supervised for lunch, this will be noticed very very fast. And it will be very very few kids, and this will actually help the kids, as opposed to taking parents to court.
By the time kids are in high school, and the parent or guardian are unwilling or unable to provide for as elementary a need as food, they must learn to ask for help themselves, or the cycle will just be self perpetuating.
It’s certainly better for society to be sure all kids are fed. Poor nutrition and/or empty bellies, especially in the developing years, goes right along with keeping a bad cycle going.
Having kids realize they aren’t as good as their peers by shaming them for things out of their control also keeps bad cycles going more often than it motivates change.
One of the best changes from my youth was eliminating the Free Lunch ticket poor kids had to pay with and just having accounts like the wealthier kids. No one knows.
But that’s not what this thread is about. This thread is applauding a company that chose to assist a school district by paying back due debts for school lunches. It is only a one time fix, but I imagine it saved the school district money without cost to any taxpayer.
We’re all free to donate as we see fit. The fact that we’re drawn to different things keeps parts of our world going, but that’s not this thread either.
IME the best outcome for future generations is a well fed student who feels on par with everyone else and learns that what they do makes a difference for them. There are rewards for getting homework done and punishment for not - with appropriate gray areas as needed when unusual things come up. But the student can change their behavior to change that outcome. Many can’t with their parents financial choices. We have students who work to pay the electric bill sometimes because their parents don’t. The bar is more attractive after payday. Such is real life for some.
Unlike what a PP suggested, no, most at the high school level do not know they can ask for help, or even if they do, it’s a scary and humiliating thing. College students often need to be reminded too.
It’s up to more knowledgeable adults to watch out and guide, teaching along the way. Still, feed the kids in the meantime without demeaning them for things they can’t control.
I wish I could put an image in. Today’s main lunch at school is:
Big Daddy’s Pizza
Green Beans
Blueberries
or
Spicy Chicken Pattie
The soup is Miscellaneous, so you’re taking your chances if you choose that one.
Or it’s Salad Bar week.
Any of those can be chosen for the main lunch.
First, I’ve seen your other comments that show a caring heart, Creekland. I’m impressed.
But this thread keeps falling back on emotions. We hear lunch shaming and are, ourselves, shamed. It gives an impression of kids cowering from lunch bullies, who have their pizza slice in hand. Is there, in fact, shaming? Not just what we project? Best I can tell, in this Warwick case, the restaurant owner called it. I know other areas use the term. But what’s really going on?
The outside media stated jelly-only sandwiches. A visual of a kid with a white bread sandwich and water from the fountain. That’s inaccurate. Some fret about peanut butter and allergies, but this is a hypoallergenic sunflower butter. A fruit, veggie, and milk. Same cold option already on the menu.
Sure, sometimes pizza is the main hot lunch entree. But in Wareick, per local reporting, all I can find is it’s a la carte in the high school.
Likewise, one comment that Bachus heard they’re throwing away lunches is not enough. Another version was a one time anecdote that a teacher threw out a lunch. Not a policy. We don’t know. Bachus, btw is a social worker elected to her role. Not a paid school admin. Per LinkedIn.
My point being: do we truly have an accurate picture?
We seem to react as if these kids are being denied lunch. Not so. They were going to be denied at-will choices and offered a full cold lunch.
I care. I’ve been involved at a meal site, on theboard, dealt with an uncooperative food bank, and when our funds only extended for the next two group meal dates. I’ve seen parents who care, are child focused.
But to move forward, at least with understanding of the magnitude of this issue and some particulars, we need to be rational in our understanding. Not leap to point fingers. It’s very complex and not all areas can do the max.
We don’t, but that doesn’t stop posters from trotting out the imagery that suits their argument the best whether it’s grounded in facts or not. All I can say is that I hope when I’m old and poor, @Creekland is the one deciding what I get for my meals on wheels lunch - or if I even deserve one.
I will make sure you get it, @Sabaray-if you file the darn forms, which I am happy to assist you in completing, as in this case.
@lookingforward I’ll freely admit I’m using my own experiences from 19 years of teaching and seeing kids who prefer to skip lunch than let other students know they can’t afford it. Who knows if the other students would look down on them in reality or not because I don’t ask them. The fact that they feel inferior is the problem.
I just know I do what I can when I come across those situations. If a student merely forgot money, giving them $ is simple. For the student whose dad left them, giving him money and informing guidance helped the mom get groceries, signed up for help, and a better job.
For those in between it’s more complicated. Our school at one time offered a plain cheese sandwich to those without money. I’m not sure if they still do or not, but I haven’t seen a single high school student take them up on it. They sit and don’t eat or hang out elsewhere instead. That’s not a good solution.
I will also add that working in a statistically average public school has really opened my eyes to see more of the real world than I ever knew existed before. That world doesn’t tend to fit in the greatest with Norman Rockwell’s paintings.
I will never punish the kids for the actions of the parents, but I do all I can to teach them different ways. With money related things, Pay It Forward in the future is one of the first things I teach.