Cyndi's Two Cents
Supper at school
With the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010, some schools across the United States began participating in a federally subsidized after school meal plan. Today there are schools in all 50 states that feed children breakfast, lunch and an evening meal. Last year, 104 million suppers were served to children at school.
A story from a national news service recently exposed this program to some people who were not aware of its existence. The reaction surprised me. I expected the talk show hosts trying to increase ratings to point at this program as another example of this country as a “nanny-state.” What I didn’t expect were the comments from people I know well, calling the program a socialist threat and a dangerous precedent.
In a perfect world, families would eat together every evening. Most of us were raised that way and raised our children that way. It might not always be a fancy or expensive meal, but there was and is always enough to go around. There was and is always enough to share should someone come to the door. Unfortunately, the world is far from perfect.
The 8-year-old nephew of one of my contemporaries spent the night with a friend. The boys rode the school bus to the friend’s home and played the games that young boys play in the yard until dark. Inside the house, the boys played together in the bedroom shared with 2 siblings. As the evening wore on, the visitor’s stomach began to growl.
“When are we going to eat?” he asked his little friend.
“Oh, we eat at school,” answered the voice of innocence.
Does that break your heart? It breaks mine. I have shared this story before in this column and every time I tell it, I get a lump in my throat. This boy’s parents are not bad people. They are poor.
Can you imagine the despair and guilt a parent must feel when the cupboards are bare and his or her child is hungry? When there is only so much money to cover rent, utilities, and transportation to work, something has to give. Is it better to have food but move a family of 5 into your car?
I know there are hungry people out there who would blow the money that you gave them to feed their children. There are people who would buy cocaine, meth or a bottle of booze instead of bread, milk and meat. I know there are parents who use the school supper program as a crutch. However, I just don’t believe that most people are made that way. I believe most people want to provide for their children.
I do not believe anyone should sign up for government food programs for life. I believe that social programs are there for those times in life when we need a leg up, not a handout. But when an 8-year old boy does not think twice about missing supper, something is inherently wrong.
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Did you mean 104 million meals were served after school? I didn’t know we even had that many kids in this country, let alone that many kids getting supper after school.
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Did you mean 104 million meals served after school? I didn’t know that there were even 104 million school aged kids in this country, let alone 104 million kids getting meals after school. And yes it is too bad that there are such harsh attitudes about safety net programs for the most vulnerable among us.
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104 million suppers were served. My mistake! I’m editing the copy now.
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Thank our good Lord that we never had to make those decisions for our family. Our food was just down on the farm food, nothing fancy, but no one went hungry. Stories like you told break my heart.