Students left hungry and shamed!!!

[Ausgirl]

We don't have school lunches here! There's a tuck shop (aka 'canteen') - the kids take lunch money, buy what they want...

We used to have a system where the kids handed in lunch orders written on paper bags (usually written by parents) and a lunch monitor went and picked up a box with all the lunches in it. Not any more, too much trouble or something - which means kids are free to graze on muffins and chip snacks at will, rather than being delivered a salad roll or sandwich.

I'd love it if my daughter could get a cooked meal in winter, as long it was real food and not fatty greasy stuff.

Anyways, OT - not a great way to get attention to an issue, but effective I suppose.. I don't understand parents who can't afford school lunches, though, even on a limited income. I'm on a fixed income, and my daughter gets a certain amount for her sandwich, drink and snack every day. I budget it in to my weekly expenses. It'd be awesome if the school would pay for her lunch, but since it doesn't -- I budget the food money in, the end.

So how do parents who are working and with a decent wage NOT pay for the kids' lunches and expect the school to cover it? I bet most don't think twice about spending on a night out or take away once a week, or a trip to the movies...

eta: I don't make her lunch anymore, as these days she has a bugaboo about "old" food that's been in her school bag all morning.. and the sammiches just come home uneaten.

 

[txsvicki]

How does this administrator really know what parents' earn? Unless he's snooping into private areas there is no way he'd know for sure how many kids parents earned more than the limit.

 

[momrids6]

So how do parents who are working and with a decent wage NOT pay for the kids' lunches and expect the school to cover it? I bet most don't think twice about spending on a night out or take away once a week, or a trip to the movies...

They usually do- the problem is- some schools do not have a proper way of notifying parents when their child's balance in their lunch account is gone. Our school has the online program mentioned above.

 

[Linda7NJ]

Our school district has installed a system whereby you can pay online and add money to your student's account. They also notify you when there is a low balance. No more having to remember to write a check or have cash handy. This whole situation could've been avoided with a system like this...

This is a poor area, I'd bet lots of families don't have computers, many tend to utilize check cashing places, many don't have bank accounts.

 

[Angelonline]

Our school district has also said no money in the account then no lunch. I overpay into my daughters account, to try to ensure that she is never low on lunch funds. It is hard to keep up with though because if she eats breakfast or adds an extra milk or buys a yogurt then money comes out too. She doesn't always remember to tell me, she is 5. You do get an automated call if your account is low, because my assistant got one of those last week. I wonder though what happens if you miss the call.

 

[Linda7NJ]

Our school district has also said no money in the account then no lunch. I overpay into my daughters account, to try to ensure that she is never low on lunch funds. It is hard to keep up with though because if she eats breakfast or adds an extra milk or buys a yogurt then money comes out too. She doesn't always remember to tell me, she is 5. You do get an automated call if your account is low, because my assistant got one of those last week. I wonder though what happens if you miss the call.

When my son went to private school in the beginning of the year I deposited $250.00 in his lunch account. everything was paid for separately and the children could buy whatever they wanted. My kid, blew through it all in three months! This is when I learned he was buying his friends snacks, food etc. apparently, I didn't tell him he couldn't and I never asked ...eye roll... I requested and received a print out of his daily transactions. The lunch lady permitted this and never picked up a phone to ask me, never said anything to him or asked him if I knew.
I was not a happy camper! I didn't know who to be angrier at!!!

 

[Confusion]

I don't totally disagree with the idea in theory, but in practice it could be bad. If they really are mainly concerned about getting parents in lower income families to apply for free or reduced lunches, this is definitely not the way to do it. Parents who don't care if their kids get anything to eat at lunch time are also the parents most likely to send their kids off to school without breakfast. For a lot of those kids, it wouldn't be a matter of missing a meal; in some cases, those lunches are just about all the kids get to eat. If there just isn't enough income in the family, they would easily qualify for free/reduced lunches, but what about families that should have adequate income, but one or both parents waste most of their money on alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc.?

 

[MissJ]

JMO but this makes me furious. No child should be left to go hungry when food is there and is thrown away. It is a bullying tactic.

 

[Elley Mae]

This article explains what is really happening, and the video explains it even more.

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/23328897/new-school-lunch-program-upsets-parents

Thanks 1.b.nora for the link.

From the link.

The new lunch program states that if kids, not on the Free and Reduced Lunch program, don't have money to pay for their school lunch, they will go hungry for the day.

bbm It appears to me that this is directed at the kids parents that pay full price for lunch.


From the link.


In a letter sent home to parents, the district says that if a student goes through the lunch line and doesn't have enough money to pay for it, the lunch staff is instructed to throw the meal away.

This doesn't make sense to me, I worked at an elementary school cafe and if kids didn't have money they didn't get in line. This is the beginning of the school year and parents have to reapply for the reduced or free school every year. Lots of parents don't like doing this. Yet the way I read this it is directed at paying kids, idk. ok ok it is directed at the paying kids that have allowed their accounts to 0 out. I was unaware that phone calls were placed as reminders, my gosh really? When checking out the kids they have a number that they use that # brings up an account that shows the name, and other info that includes the monies in that account, we would tell the student their account was low we did not place phone calls. If the student didn't have money they got a cheese or jelly sandwich and a milk.

From the link.

The superintendent wants parents to apply for the district's Free and Reduced Lunch Program. That way, children won't have their lunch tossed and go hungry. This policy is perfectly legal. It's up to the district's discretion.

bbm So it seems that the policy could/should be changed.

At the end of the day it appears that it is the parent that should be on top of their child's lunch account. jmo:twocents:

 

[Flinders]

My family think lunches are not healthy and have out of date ingredients. Apparently no one gets a good lunch other than the teachers. Lunches have been a source of breakfast and lunch for those who are hungry. Seriously, I went to high school in the morning happy that they had breakfast. No one in my school said anything about free food. We sat in the morning in the cafeteria while they had high calorie foods. Shame on ANYONE who looked sideways.

 

[keeponsearching]

They will throw the food away, if the child has no money in his/her account. That just sounds stupid. I can see them wanting to make a difference when it comes to parents actually taking responsibility and paying but to not feed a kid, and dump the food, can we say to much power. I think they could maybe come up with a new plan, because that one is stupid. How did anyone every in there right mind agree on that.

 

[Hopeful One]

Our school district has also said no money in the account then no lunch. I overpay into my daughters account, to try to ensure that she is never low on lunch funds. It is hard to keep up with though because if she eats breakfast or adds an extra milk or buys a yogurt then money comes out too. She doesn't always remember to tell me, she is 5. You do get an automated call if your account is low, because my assistant got one of those last week. I wonder though what happens if you miss the call.

We are supposed to get an email when our account is running low but I can't even count the number of times we haven't received the email. My kids forget to tell us because, well, they're kids. They offer them a jelly sandwich and that's it. My son doesn't like jelly so there have been several times that he has gone without lunch because of this. It infuriates me.

 

[Flinders]

They will throw the food away, if the child has no money in his/her account. That just sounds stupid. I can see them wanting to make a difference when it comes to parents actually taking responsibility and paying but to not feed a kid, and dump the food, can we say to much power. I think they could maybe come up with a new plan, because that one is stupid. How did anyone every in there right mind agree on that.

The food for kids is not seen as paying for a kid. In Oz we have free breakfasts for kids who are least likely to be at school. A breakfast is SERVED to all kids by the local police every Thursday. They are more kind and welcoming than me.

We see a child in school as participating.

 

[believe09]

I was looking into this a little more and there is a federal grant program that will give a district free lunch and breakfast grants if 40% of the district qualifies for food stamps. This means everyone eats for free in the school-not just children whose families collect food stamps. Look at the cities that have implemented this program, which came into existence in 2010:

http://news.yahoo.com/family-income-not-factor-students-eat-free-064132402.html

With the program's adoption in Boston, education officials said, the city joins schools in cities including Grand Rapids, Mich., Atlanta and Washington, D.C., in a program that will be available across the country starting in the 2014-2015 school year.

IMHO, this district should ride it out until this program is available next year...I mean if they believe they are operating on a 50K deficit because they are not being reimbursed by the govt for the free lunch program, they must hit these numbers possibly?

 

[Angelonline]

When my son went to private school in the beginning of the year I deposited $250.00 in his lunch account. everything was paid for separately and the children could buy whatever they wanted. My kid, blew through it all in three months! This is when I learned he was buying his friends snacks, food etc. apparently, I didn't tell him he couldn't and I never asked ...eye roll... I requested and received a print out of his daily transactions. The lunch lady permitted this and never picked up a phone to ask me, never said anything to him or asked him if I knew.
I was not a happy camper! I didn't know who to be angrier at!!!

Our district does not allow students to buy food/drinks for anyone else (thank goodness).
They can buy one extra milk, or one yogurt per day and can eat breakfast out of their account. My daughter always eats breakfast at home, but sometimes eats at school too lol. She likes breakfast.

 

[i.b.nora]

Too bad Fox doesn't pick up on stories like this which took place a week or so before, in the very same school district with the very same Superintendent:

3,500 free backpacks being distributed to Willingboro students

Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 12:00 am | Updated: 6:29 am, Tue Aug 27, 2013

Paraphrase

The Better Education Institute, a nonprofit organization in partnership with the Willingboro School District, will distribute 3,500 backpacks to parents and guardians from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Garfield East Elementary School and the J.C. Stuart Elementary School.

"We are grateful for BEI's commitment to help children in need in Willingboro. Their contribution will help our students start the school year prepared to learn." -- Superintendent Ronald Taylor

Organizers ask that children be in attendance during the pickup.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/loc...7-8afe-590b-b45e-c7effd2bc07f.html?TNNoMobile

 

[Show Me]

When my kids were in school, when parents enrolled their children in school they had to read and sign the reduced or free lunch letter that day! The same time you proved your kid had the vaccines, paid lab fees etc. You went in a line, got your papers to fill out and stood in this line, then that line. About 6 to 8 different lines and one was the free or reduced lunch line, whether your kid was eligible or not. You had to have each line paper stamped and the final line you turned all your papers in and the child finally got their photo ID card and was then officially enrolled.

When our kids were in school you could pay online and check balance online, send a check or kids could use cash. Kids could not buy their friends food through the lunch account.



If a kid didn't have the money they could charge so many lunches and meanwhile the calls or notes kept coming.

 

[lil_buddy]

Here is a copy of the 106 page Eligibility Manual for School Meals as provided by the Federal Government.:

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Guidance/EliMan.pdf

It seems to me that all the Superintendent is doing is trying to get all the parents and families who qualify for or want to participate in the free or reduced cost program is for people to fill out and submit the damn application.

They have already addressed the issue of informing people of the account balance for those who do put money in an account.

Does anyone have suggestions for how to get people to fill out the application and turn it in promptly?

If they know who qualifies, why do they need an application? Bureaucratic BS if you ask me. In the age of computers, how friggin' hard is it to cross ref the student list with the welfare list?

We can sit here and complain about how irresponsible the parents are, but it is the children who suffer.

 

[killarney rose]

I sound cold, but the schools are not responsible for feeding kids, even though there is a Lunchroom. Parents are! If the parents are not sending a lunch or lunch money, report them to DHR to be held accountable for not meeting the needs of their child!

 

[lil_buddy]

I sound cold, but the schools are not responsible for feeding kids, even though there is a Lunchroom. Parents are! If the parents are not sending a lunch or lunch money, report them to DHR to be held accountable for not meeting the needs of their child!

Then what? The parents get's fined $$$ they don't have? The parent gets thrown in jail leaving the kid where? Then there's the man-hours paid to gov't agency employees for pursuing the case...