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We've all been there, either as a parent or as a kid - the forgotten school lunch/lunch money. Hell! I'm still there on occasion. But I digress.
When I was in school, if you forgot your lunch or your lunch money, you received a lunch and your parents paid for it the next day. It wasn't the end of the world, and it wasn't a lifestyle choice. If your family couldn't afford to provide lunch, they applied for free or reduced price lunches through the National School Lunch Program. Food was served on reusable plastic trays and ketchup counted as a vegetable. Those were the good old days! Now? Times they are a changing, and so are school policies.
The official lunch policy in Cam's school district is:
As is so often the case these days, there are people who take advantage of the system. School districts are seeing a huge increase in delinquent school lunch accounts as well as kids showing up to school without a lunch. It got so bad in the Albuquerque Public Schools (unpaid lunch charges hovered around $55,000 in 2006. That jumped to $130,000 at the end of the 2007-08 school year. It was $140,000 through the first five months of this school year) that they implemented a Cheese Sandwich Policy.
The Cheese Sandwich Policy provides a cold cheese sandwich, fruit and milk to each and every child who comes to school without lunch/lunch money. The school district calls these "courtesy meals" - parents whose kids are served them call it punishment and complain that their children are being embarrassed and humiliated for being poor.
News flash! If you are too poor to provide $2.50 for a hot lunch, or to provide a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from home, apply for the free/reduced price lunch program! That is why it is available. Sure, a sudden loss of a job and a delay in processing the application can make things tough for a week or two, and your child may need to eat the "courtesy meal" until that can be worked out, but it's lunch, right? A fairly nutritious meal?
I see nothing wrong with this policy. It's not intended to permanently force children to eat cheese sandwiches, but rather is provided as a stop-gap measure until a free/reduced price lunch program application can be processed, or for those parental brain fart moments. What do you think?
When I was in school, if you forgot your lunch or your lunch money, you received a lunch and your parents paid for it the next day. It wasn't the end of the world, and it wasn't a lifestyle choice. If your family couldn't afford to provide lunch, they applied for free or reduced price lunches through the National School Lunch Program. Food was served on reusable plastic trays and ketchup counted as a vegetable. Those were the good old days! Now? Times they are a changing, and so are school policies.The official lunch policy in Cam's school district is:
In an emergency only, a student who has forgotten their lunch may charge a school lunch. The child should bring the money to pay for this lunch the next school day. All monies sent to school for lunch purchases should be sent in an envelope with the student’s name and amount written on the outside. This should be given to the teacher upon arrival to school in the morning.Seems reasonable enough. Now, we do have the option of using a debit system for lunches. I put money in Cam's account via a web site payment and he enters his PIN to purchase his lunch at school. When the balance in his lunch account gets below $10, I get a friendly email reminder and I add additional money to his account. Pretty simple.
As is so often the case these days, there are people who take advantage of the system. School districts are seeing a huge increase in delinquent school lunch accounts as well as kids showing up to school without a lunch. It got so bad in the Albuquerque Public Schools (unpaid lunch charges hovered around $55,000 in 2006. That jumped to $130,000 at the end of the 2007-08 school year. It was $140,000 through the first five months of this school year) that they implemented a Cheese Sandwich Policy.
The Cheese Sandwich Policy provides a cold cheese sandwich, fruit and milk to each and every child who comes to school without lunch/lunch money. The school district calls these "courtesy meals" - parents whose kids are served them call it punishment and complain that their children are being embarrassed and humiliated for being poor.
News flash! If you are too poor to provide $2.50 for a hot lunch, or to provide a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from home, apply for the free/reduced price lunch program! That is why it is available. Sure, a sudden loss of a job and a delay in processing the application can make things tough for a week or two, and your child may need to eat the "courtesy meal" until that can be worked out, but it's lunch, right? A fairly nutritious meal?
I see nothing wrong with this policy. It's not intended to permanently force children to eat cheese sandwiches, but rather is provided as a stop-gap measure until a free/reduced price lunch program application can be processed, or for those parental brain fart moments. What do you think?
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20 comments:
I think they should be happy that the school is feeding their kids anything at all. $2.50 a day to some folks hard hit is a lot of money but as you stated take the time, fill out the application for assistance and viola your child is no longer a social outcast for eating a free cheese sandwich. I'm sure a majority of the parents have the money but can't be bothered to take care of business, it is a shame.
What you are seeing is the burgeoning number of (cough) parents who, when they were kids themselves, never learned how to answer the bell of "You're being held accountable for your actions or lack thereof".
They are at that age where gaming consoles were everywhere. I was barely old enough to get the very first Atari game...Pong.
I don't see anything wrong with it. They are lucky for the cheese sandwich. Our school was giving out Peanut Butter Sandwiches. But when the Peanut issue came about they just stopped providing anything.
I like cheese sandwiches.;-)
Sounds like they are getting a better lunch than what I brought myself. It's not the end of the freaken world people. Fill out the damn form and get on with it.
Now I got a craving for a peanut butter sandwich from high school....dang it..
The only problem I have with the cheese sandwich policy is that it is kind of punishing the kid for his/her lazy-ass parents.
Since they are essentially cheating the school district by sending their kids to school without lunch or money, maybe they should be charged with a petty theft misdemeanor? I mean, it is intentional on the part of most of the parents. They know the school isn't going to make the kid go without any lunch.
Guess what? If you can't afford the $2.50 for your child's lunch, YOU ARE POOR!!! Guess what else? There's nothing wrong with that!
These people need to let their egos and status get out of the way and accept the help that is available. Nobody wants their kid to be "the poor kid", but in difficult economic times, they might just have to suck it up for a week or a month until things improve.
Of course the schools could always let the debt continue to rack up and then just cut out something else from the budget like. . . more teachers, thereby increasing the class size and reducing the overall effectiveness of the educational system even further.
Okay, putting my soap box down now. Sheesh!
If I forgot lunch I just went without. Perhaps I didn't know of these special credits.
$2.50 for a meal! When I was in elementary school I got a full, hot meal (no choices and no fast foods) for 45 cents!
I don't understand that whole entitlement mentality. Anybody can fall on hard times, and more and more people have and will continue to do so. Take care of business and get the paperwork filled out and, in the meantime your kid gets lunch. I don't think there's anything wrong with a cheese sandwich, fruit and milk; that's basically what I eat for lunch and I don't feel all traumatized. Sometimes I think that there is a percentage of people who are just chronically in a frenzy over some stupid thing. If it wasn't the lunches, it would be something else. Sometimes I just want to say "shut up."
So lets see, a kid doesn't have lunch, for whatever reason, the school provides something FOR FREE, and the parents complain?
Why am I not surprised in this day and age?
Wait.
These parents are pissed their children are being given FREE meals instead of going hungry bc they forgot to send money or a lunch from home?! They are complaining about what their kids are being given to eat?!
......I am dumbfounded. Flat out, jaw dropped, shaking my head.....
Good lord.
Lu, I do understand that times get difficult and we have to improvise sometimes. Cam was on reduced price school lunches at one point - I wasn't too proud - but I also didn't expect to get something for nothing!
NV, I'm still trying to figure out how a cheese sandwich became so degrading.
BBall Mom, no one is forcing the kids to eat. If they don't like what is served, they can always skip it!
Turn, so do I!
Average, I would say they are getting lunch, and that is good enough!
Jay, I can see that it might be embarrassing for the kid, but punishing? It's not like they are serving liver and onions!
Jeff, my point exactly! It happens - it has happened to me! It's not a big deal and the Federal Lunch Program is a wonderful opportunity.
Rage, just like everything these days, you can put school lunch on a credit account!
Nick, I remember $0.40 when I was in 1st grade, but $2.50 is still one heck of a deal.
Kim, it seems that the idea of I should have everything else everyone else has, even if I haven't earnbed it, has become the norm.
Hubman, yep! You got it! The school should provide the SAME "courtesy meal" to the kids who don't have lunch so that no one knows their parents are idiots.
Vixen, it is amazing, isn't it?
I can't believe parents are complaining about that, especially since its what I send my own kid to have for lunch.
And really, with a little planning, having inexpensive, nutritious lunches are not that difficult.
A hard boiled egg, some soup, a piece of fruit and a muffin and voila, lunch and snack.
We have the debit system, too. I deposit money in the account, and Jill (Heath does not buy) enters her PIN. I only allow her to buy 1-2 times a week. It's a waste of money, in my opinion, when I can make her a perfectly healthy lunch from home.
If I goof and forget to charge it (they send a print out when it goes below $15, but sometimes that print out doesn't make it to me), the office loans her the money and sends me a note home that day so I'll know to re-pay them.
I see nothing wrong with the policy, either. I was poor growing up and we had free lunches. I pay for my kids food, and I, too, use the web site to keep money on their account. For kids who run out of money, or forgot to tell their parents they were low, the kids in our district get a peanut butter sandwhich.
The schools have a enough monetary problems to deal with. They shouldn't have to lose money feeding the children. This is another case of parents not taking responsibility for their kids. But that's just my opinion.
Cheese sandwiches motivated my girls into reminding (incessantly) about lunch money.
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