You know that parody article about homeschooling that uses food/nutrition to make a point...about what if it weren't legal to feed your kids at home and you had to take them to government cafeterias to eat? Well, with that in mind, this gave me chills http://www.jackson.k12.ga.us/index....dents-of-jackson-county&catid=1&Itemid=100015
My town, too. (And this one is for whole families!) http://cabot.todaysthv.com/news/community-spirit/98251-schools-serve-summer-lunch-hungry-families Yes, I get it, it helps a lot for people who don't otherwise have means to eat. But here we go laying some groundwork, right?
I don't know, I have mixed feelings. There are people who don't have enough food and anything is better than nothing. I think it is great for children who need food and I applaud a city that is providing for the needy. The problem in my opinion lies with the "anyone who wants to eat" can come and get a free meal. There are greedy people out there who will send their kids to get free food when they have plenty.
Our particular program is funded by a state grant (government issued) and one requirement is that there are no requirements. There are several schools in town that are meal distribution sites and anyone who wants to (families are encouraged to attend lunch together) can come eat. I know from the people who staff the lunches (many of whom attend my church) that this is a major blessing for a lot of families. But, again.... groundwork.
I agree that is is groundwork for who know what else they come up with! I know many schools are doing this, but as a mother, why would I want to get up, get dressed, get my kids up early, waste the gas in my car... just to go get a free meal!... but many will and do ... I must be to lazy to want to get dressed before noon.. LOL!
On the other hand, if my choices were get up and dressed or watch my kiddos go hungry today, I'd have been showered and out the door by now.
Our area has an overwhelming majority of students on free and reduced lunches. Our school also has the same breakfast and lunch program. I've been on the receiving end of that myself and it was much appreciated during our lean years. I understand the idea of groundwork being laid, but I think we should feed hungry people anyway. We aren't accountable for others' greed, kwim? They will be judged at harvest time (think wheat and tares in the same field).
First it was free lunch at school. Then it was free breakfast and free lunch at school. Now it's breakfast and lunch year-round. I think we've established a pattern, here. I much prefer the program the Food Bank has (not our pantry at our church, but the Food Bank our pantry gets our groceries from). They take referrals from the schools, and provide backpacks for needy kids, filled with foods that kids can fix for themselves (just open a package or can - I don't know about fresh fruits). The backpacks are not marked in any way, so there's no stigma of "we're too poor and have no food at home". I think they take them home on Fridays and bring them back empty on Mondays. This is working on the "something is better than nothing" principle for kids who can't cook whatever food they may have at their house, like when a single parent is working. This way they have something to eat daily and for the weekend when there's no school lunch to look forward to.
I'm really surprised that this is making news. The school district where I live has been doing this for at least 20+ years. Every week day at noon, sack lunches are delivered to 5-6 area parks that have swimming pools or wading pools where kids hang out. There are no income requirements, nor do their parents have to be there. Kids are given a sandwich, chips, and some kind of fresh fruit, juice, and milk. It's a blessing both for kids whose parents can't afford lunch and also for those who have to leave their kids home alone during the day and can't be there to make lunch for them. The only thing I don't like is that if more kids show up than they have food for, the kids are not allowed to share and some have to be turned away. I don't see it as laying the groundwork for anything, just trying to make sure kids get to eat. If it weren't the government, but a church that was doing this would it make a difference? There is also an organization in town that does the food backpacks as well. The kids that are referred receive a backpack of food on Friday and return it to be filled again on Monday. In the summer, they even take the backpacks to the kids' houses to make sure they get to eat. Dd14 participated in World Vision's 30-hour famine through our church. It really opened her eyes and mine to how many kids are hungry. If a hungry child is being fed, I can't see how it's a bad thing.
At the school where I worked, the backpacks weren't marked, but everyone knew the kids who got them and what they were. In our school, most all of the kids were from low income families, so it wasn't really a big deal, but I can imagine in a more affluent school it might be. Sometimes I wonder if there not being a stigma attached to these programs contributes to the problem, though. I have no problem helping people who need help, but if someone can help themselves, they should. It's a hard line between taking care of hungry kids and taking responsibility off of the parents to take care of their own kids. I don't know the solution.
This is the message I get from one of the local summer lunch programs: Although you were educated in our approved version of nutrition while you attended government-ran schools, it is still doubtful that you have any understanding of how to make a nutritional lunch, so we will tell you how to do it in detail and then you will hand over the lunches you have prepared to an approved agency that is being monitored and checked by the government to distribute these lunches out to whoever shows up without question and please encourage our friends to feed them to their children even if they do not need them, because if we have too many left over, this program may not be available in the future for the children who really do need it. Churches here cannot just make a few lunches and give them out to local families, but we can give them to another agency under government scrutiny and not selective to the recipients. The logic escapes me.
My sentiments exactly. At our church's Food Pantry, back when we'd only been doing it a couple of years, there was some stink about some of the clients lying on their paperwork and getting groceries they didn't truly qualify for, and clients "tattling" on other clients, a whole big thing. Our response to that was like a paraphrase of the Marines: "Feed 'em all and let God sort them out!"
This has become my attitude more and more lately. Dd14 told me the other day that she has started to feel like her calling is to somehow help with feeding the hungry, although she isn't sure just how. So, we've been brainstorming ways she might be able to make a difference. She isn't worried about people who take advantage as long as some who need help, get it. I could learn a lot from her!
My thoughts exactly. Jackson co has some Title I schools, in fact most of the school I know of int he area are, but it just rubs me wrong. I think it's the fact that it's government run and there is no income issues. Funny, because with our local food banks and food stamps income is a HUGE deal. They don't care how bad you NEED it, they only care about your income and household size. I think that's why it rubs me the wrong way. That and the fact that with food stamps or a food bank and I can drive once a week or month and get food, but here you want low income families to drive to get food twice a day? Gas locally is around $3.40/gal. This is rural GA, you're probably drive a decent distance to get the food. Why not spend that $6.80 on food and save the gas?
Our neighborhood school has the same thing, and during the school year they have some sort of food drive where a big truck parks in the school parking lot and there is a loooooong line of people with everything from plastic bags to laundry baskets (!!!) waiting to get whatever it is they're giving. My Dh gets all upset when he sees them.. It is definitely a good program for those who need it. I think there should be some sort of income requirement. Just like the free lunches at school during the academic year. Those have an income requirement, right? They should do the same for these things, so kids who have a card, or whatever, can eat there.
Our church is in what was once a huge furniture store. We have a very large warehouse area in back and part of it is used by an organization that does the backpack thing at schools in the area. During the summer, they have volunteers take boxes of food to the neighborhoods that are helped during the school year so they can continue to get food. The elementary schools in low income neighborhoods offer free lunches during the summer for any child under 18 no matter income or need. One of the local schools that participates is behind a splash pad that is free to the public. We have been there quite a bit and the only children or families I've seen go into the school were walking from the neighborhood around it. I get the problem with government meddling too much in our lives. I get the lack of parental responsibility that can result from getting handed too much for nothing. Then, I see some of the kids walking to the school by themselves to eat a meal and it breaks my heart. For one thing, most of them are too young to be out by themselves let alone left home alone, which many probably are. It is hard to know the right solution. It is not a child's fault if his parents can't afford good food. It definitely isn't his fault if his parents can but just want something for free. I guess, this is where I stand when it comes to children.
