No such thing as a free lunch?
Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 10:01AM
Minnesota schools are poised to offer free lunches and breakfasts to all students under a bill passed by the state Senate on Tuesday. Star Tribune, March 15, 2023
I ate school hot lunches for all 12 years I attended school*. Hot lunches back in the 1960s cost 35 cents and a carton of milk was two pennies. Of course, most things were only about a tenth as expensive when I was a kid as they are today. Plus we didn’t have cell phone bills or streaming network fees to pay.
Each month my parents would send a check for seven dollars with me to school so that I could purchase a small paper ticket with 20 punches for meals. Most of my friends who also lived on farms did the same. Some townies went home for lunch; and a rare few brought sack lunches.
In general, I liked school hot lunches. We got a lot of hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes and overcooked veggies. Chicken nuggets had not yet been invented. One dish I did not like was a salmon loaf we kids all called “spider loaf” because of the black flecks in it, but we always had peanut butter sandwiches to fall back on when that was served. There was not today's concern over nutritional value, but I still managed to attain a height of 6’ 4” eating foods that were bad for me. I’d probably be seven feet tall had I had more fruits and fresh veggies.
There is now a bill in the Minnesota legislature that would make breakfast and lunch free to all public school students, regardless of income. There is some debate over it with criticisms that the program would be a give-away to families who don’t need financial assistance and that the additional expense could be better used elsewhere to improve schools. Points taken.
But I like the idea. A prime motivation for this action is to eliminate the stigma some kids face when their parents cannot or do not pay their lunchroom tabs. Harassment by school personnel (including stamping hands with “reminders" of unpaid bills) or being given a different meal when money is owed have not been uncommon. There are parents who will not fill out the forms needed to qualify for hot lunch. And so on. Shaming children for the behavior of parents is inexcusable.
Public education in Minnesota is, by law, free. We do not charge parents, regardless of income, fees for tuition, salaries, building upkeep, water bills, or administrative services. Nor do we charge for transportation to and from school nor library services nor textbook use.
If we don’t charge rich folks for textbook use, why should we charge them for school meals? The argument can be made that good nutrition is an important factor in education. One of Maslow’s most basic necessities is the physiological need for food. Duh. And until the most elementary needs are met, nothing on the hierarchy above such as health, friendship, achievement, or problem-solving can happen either. Food is fundamental to success in both school and life.
A free education should include breakfast and lunch. We can’t afford not to provide it.
*I also ate school hot lunches when I was a district employee for many years.
Reader Comments (6)
A comment left on FB Messenger:
Saw your blog about school lunches. Totally agree about making it free for all. Saves money on accounting costs. By the time I was in HS, most everyone at at school. I think the salmon loaf was replaced by fish sticks. We had some additions to the menu like tacos! I remember there being two colors of lunch tickets. And also Mrs. Owens standing over you making sure tou ate everything . . . even if you tried to hide it in your milk carton. We had the glass bottles with the foil tops for afternoon snacks. I think back to the peanut butter sandwiches. No one died, but I wonder how many suffered from peanut allergies or lactose intolerance without anyone knowing.
I agree.
I might add that the richest nation in the history of history can also afford a laptop and cello for every student.
Hi Gary,
Good to hear from you. Been a while.
Even as a "techie", I'd support tax dollars going to food before laptops!
Hope all is going well for you. I'm happy to be retired.
Doug
Also, is additive. We can feed kids bellies, minds, and souls.
The district I most recently worked in started providing free lunches for all students. I agree with all of your reasons why school lunches should be free for all students. It just makes sense. Your post also made me remember back in my elementary school days, school lunch was 65 cents for me. We could also buy chocolate milk during morning break for 15 cents. This was around 1985. We all loved lunchtime. The cafeteria ladies sure knew how to cook! I’m not a big fan of the new dietary rules for school lunches, mainly because of the exorbitant amount of food waste I saw, but that’s a whole ‘nother topic and opinion you didn’t ask for! 😁
Hi Mandy,
Good to know lunch for all is working in your district.
I'd forgotten about getting chocolate milk as a treat now and then. Thanks for the good memory!
Maybe food waste will get less as kids' experience with healthier food increases. One can always hope.
Doug