Forget it

[drmeow]

[SoCalNative]

1. Would you rather they fed them nothing at all

like some districts do if the student has no money for food?

At least they don't go hungry.

[drmeow]

3. If I think feeding them cheese

sandwiches is punishment, why would I think not feeding them anything is better?

[elleng]

2. Not exactly;

I think there's more to this than 'feeding cheese sandwiches is bad.'

Punishing?

Mean and vindictive?

Doesn't do good?

See this: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5151065

[tanngrisnir3]

4. Ah, so actually feeding hungry kids makes the problem worse. Brilliant.

Just brilliant, I tell you.

[drmeow]

7. forget it

[tanngrisnir3]

8. It doesn't do anything to support whatever point you were trying to make.

[SheilaT]

15. I know. Every time I fed my own kids it just

made things worse. When they were hungry they'd be crabby and whine about how hungry they were. Then after the meal they'd have all this energy and bounce around and make me nuts. Couldn't win.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[NOW tense]

5. Dead fans at least had theirs grilled. n/t

[SmileyRose]

6. I really do hope

that because of all the bitching about sammiches no school system with this policy decides to just go back to the way it used to be - the kid got nothing to eat until their parents either paid or filled out the forms. (edit - or packed the kid a lunch)

[tanngrisnir3]

9. I hope not. As it is now, the kids are getting a complete meal

It's the the nutjobs who think free nutrition at school equates to evil social engineering or abuse of delicate young sensibilities.

[WolverineDG]

10. If the choice is a cheese sandwich or nothing at all, I vote for cheese sandwich

What a lot of DUers are missing is just how much it costs to provide lunches (free or not) at all, which schools are not constitutionally required to do in the first place. There are grants & federal money for that, but they have to account for every penny & they don't get credit for giving food away "for free." The schools are required to provide an education. The $300K projected budget shortfall in Albuquerque is not chump change. That's several teaching positions.

What a lot of DUers are conveniently overlooking is the steps this particular district takes to give the parents time to either contact the school or apply for reduced or free lunch programs. I think it's hypocritical to expect the school to bend over backwards to do something they are not legally required to do & not expect the parents to do a simple task such as return a phone call, visit the school, fill out a form, or :gasp: actually make a lunch so their kid doesn't get a cheese sandwich.

dg

[tanngrisnir3]

12. Excellent points, and well summed up.

Seems some people here would rather have kids go hungry than run any risk of some sort of imaginary humiliation.

[CoffeeCat]

11. Where did you hear about this?

This happens in my school district. I'm in a Midwestern suburb--the land of McMansions and severe landscaping--where this stuff
isn't supposed to happen. I didn't know that other districts did this.

In our monthly school newsletter, a blurb from the people who do the lunch billing, spelled out new terms. Because so
many lunch accounts were negative--there is a new policy. If the lunch account is in the negative--instead of feeding
the kids nothing and turning them away--they are given a sack lunch, with a cheese sandwich and a milk.

Normally, these kids are told that they can't eat because there is no money in the account. Now, these kids will be able
to eat.

This was an action taken, because so many lunch accounts are negative. I took this as a step the school was making--to ensure
that these kids got something to eat.

I didn't know that other districts were doing this...

I think it's incredibly humane of the school to do this. Schools are under strict budgets and our state just announced
across-the-board cuts in EVERY area, due to the poor economy. At least the schools are trying to do something.

I was at school, in the office this week. I overheard the secretary telling a parent that they had received their check
for $20 for lunch, but the account would still be in the negative. After she hung up with the parent, I asked the secretary
if I could donate $40 to that lunch account anonymously.

We all need to do our part...our economic situation is very serious--and I think many families are hiding how serious they have
been impacted by the economy.

[liberalmuse]

13. Cheese sandwhiches are a treat to poor kids.

My mom couldn't afford bread most of the time, and once when my sister, who was 8 at the time accidentally spilled a quart of "real" milk (not the powdered stuff), my mom beat the crap out of her. She would not sign for us get free lunch ("welfare"), so we didn't eat lunch. I would have loved a cheese sandwich. You can't concentrate on your studies at school if you're lightheaded.

[CoffeeCat]

14. I'm sorry about how you grew up...

...and I agree with you about a cheese sandwich being appreciated--especially to an elementary-school child.

By the way, if you had sat next to me in the lunch room, I would have shared my lunch with you. I had
a very shitty childhood, and it would have been nice to sit next to a friend and share lunch with someone
who understood. :hug: