Federal School lunch programs now run through the summer?
Posted on 06/28/2008 2:12:51 PM PDT by RightField
OCEANSIDE ---- While they're out of school for summer, students in Oceanside can pick up a free lunch at various school and community sites throughout the city.
Through the federal Seamless Summer Feeding Program, Oceanside Unified School District employees are giving out about 1,000 meals a day at 10 different sites to anybody under the age of 18, district officials said.
The program was designed to ensure that students, especially those from poor families, get nutritious meals while they're out of school.
"During the whole school year, they get good nutritious meal, but in the summer, some of them are so needy, they don't even get one good, healthy meal," said Vino Mitra, director of the district's child nutrition services department.
The meals, which are given out Monday through Friday, are paid for with a combination of state and federal money. The government reimbursement rate is nearly $3 for each meal.
If the district's child nutrition department is able to prepare suitable meals for less than the $2.82 that the government pays for the program, the district can keep the savings. Oceanside Unified should be able to earn about $39,000 in this way, Mitra said.
"I'm doing some good for the community and the kids, and I'm making a little extra money for the same kids through the rest of the year," he said.
The food is similar to what the students get during the school year, with a menu heavy on whole-grain foods, including pizza, sandwiches, burritos and hamburgers.
The program also earns a bit of money by selling lunches to adults for $3 each and selling bottled water for 75 cents.
The district plans to continue giving out the free lunches until early or mid August, depending on the site. At most of the sites, the meals are served from noon to 1 p.m.
Mitra said he picked areas where more than half of the students qualify for the district's regular free or reduced-price lunch program.
Libby Lake Park is the busiest site, and nutrition workers working there have been giving out roughly 300 meals a day from a mobile kitchen. The number of people showing up each day for lunch has steadily increased since they started serving lunch last week, said Desiree Leivonen, operations supervisor for the child nutrition services department.
"There's a need for it, obviously," she said as she took a break from serving meals.
The park took on a party-like atmosphere Friday, as people lined up down the block to pick up small pizza pockets, apples and crackers.
Many families sat on the grass, having a picnic, and workers played Spanish music from a small boom box, adding to the festive feel.
Yaita Toledo took the opportunity to grab a meal for her two kids and have a family picnic in the park.
"It's healthy food for the kids," she said with a smile as her kids ate.
Though many North County school districts have summer lunch programs, Oceanside's is by far the largest, Mitra said.
Mitra said he has worked to expand the program over the last couple of years because he wants to make sure children are eating well.
"It's nice to see them coming out and having the same nutritious meals they have all year long," Leivonen said.
Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 901-4009 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.
So nice to see the "festive feel," "Spanish music," and "party-like atmosphere" being provided for these people on the taxpayers' dime. What in the name of all things decent do these people do with their food stamps? Oh wait ... may be I already know.
Hell, why not? They don't even have to feed themselves anymore.
There is no shame being a lazy freeloader.
They are led to believe they are OWED it.
By guilty white liberals, of course.
Every year our school officials tell us to sign up for free lunch and breakfast program, even knowing damn well we make 6 figures in this area.
They just want the matching funds.
The Romans did the same thing so they didn’t have to listen to the peoples complaints. When did our government decide it was their responsibility to feed the people?
Wonder how that worked out for them.
Seamless Summer Endless Feeding Program
On the face of it this is not a bad thing. Feeding kids that may not get a good meal in any other way. However as with all programs funded with other peoples money it seems to lack structure.
Any kid under 18 that shows gets a meal?
That could be drug addicts, gang bangers etc.
Do they starve?
I guess they won't now, will they.....
Find where they are unlawful in providing the meals.
Don’t like the law, lobby your legislator to change them.
That’s how democracy works.
Federal School lunch programs now run through the summer?
We are currently in the "Bread and Circuses" phase of the empire.
“That’s how democracy works.”
This isn’t a democracy, you must be a puppet from the government school in the last 30 years.
When I was in school democracy was a dirty 4 letter word.
Okay you’ve got me. We’re a representative form of government.
I’ve been properly schooled.
Argue what my point instead of “gotcha.”
My gosh. Look at this poor, gaunt little kid. Is this America or Mugabe's Zimbabwe? We should be ashamed of ourselves that such destitution could exist in this great land. Who's running Oceanside? Who's running California? These people need to be voted out of office and I mean right now!
The school district is making a profit while providing a meal to those who need it. What’s the big deal?
We couldn’t afford to feed the youth under our care without reimbursement from the National School/Breakfast Lunch program money.
Under your care???
And where do you think the NS/BL gets its money?
Here's an idea. How's about you stop taxing the daylights out of people to pay for OTHER people's kids so they can afford to take care of their OWN kids?
Well the other people’s kids we have under our care commit crime.
“The school district is making a profit while providing a meal to those who need it. What’s the big deal?”
Yes, the school district is taking money from the federal government who took money from individual taxpayers.
But I ask, pray tell, why are we also paying to give these free-loaders food stamps? Meanwhile, we’re teaching these people that if they don’t want to work hard enough to feed their own children that it’s perfectly okay because someone else will do it.
If you can’t pay for your kids and don’t want to work more, don’t have them. And if you had them anyway, get to work instead of showing up at a park at noon for free pizza and Spanish music.
What percentage of these women do you think hold a job who show up at these events? Be honest.
oceanside used to be nice.
now it’s a trash.
call it oceanslime.
The initial reason for the “food stamp program” was an aid for farmers.
The National School/Breakfast Lunch program is a poverty driven program.
The two are differing programs. You can’t compare the two.
Okay. I'm officially lost.
What? You don’t think that local governments get reimbursement from the Feds and use that to balance their budgets?
They must also receive free massages to help them feel better about being poor.
That’s how democracy works.
Unfortunately, in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia, the "democratic process" rarely works. We have the Referendum, where sane people of the state often pass reasonable legislation directly at the ballot box (such as the No Bilingual Education initiative, the No Gay Marriage initiative, etc ) only to have them overturned by the liberal CA Supreme Court.
But thanks for the civics lesson. The last I checked, the US is a republic, not a democracy anyway. A republican form of government was put into place to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority. But, perhaps my memory of American History is fuzzy.
What about us old people, aged 65 and over? Where’s our program?
And, by the way, why are we required to pay taxes? We paid taxes all our lives and it should stop when we reach 65...
And, what about free gas for us oldsters? We’re not as spry as we used to be, so we can’t bike or walk like we used to. Free gas would sure help...
” The park took on a party-like atmosphere Friday, as people lined up down the block to pick up small pizza pockets, apples and crackers.
Many families sat on the grass, having a picnic, and workers played Spanish music from a small boom box, adding to the festive feel.”
“party-like”, “festive feel”-
sounds like a queue for free food with a guy blasting a radio. this was written by a person with no pride.
And everything there for the Americans there in Mexico there is for by the Mexican people.
Can anyone image that, I wonder?
Keep reading. BTW, I think Arnold is a great Governor and represents most of those who reside in CA.
Write your legislator today and tell him/her/it to support SUAVE -— “Save Us Aged Very Expeditiously”.
In other words, "free" breakfast and lunches are an enormously wasteful use of taxpayer money.
Does your wife work in the cafeteria? Maybe the milk they are serving expires that day?
"It's healthy food for the kids," she said with a smile as her kids ate.
Geez, lady - if you've got enough time to sit around in the park swilling food paid for by the taxpayers, you should have enough time to at least fix your kids a PB&J.
Where do you think the "local governments" get their money from? Here's a hint: the taxpayers.
Where do you think the "Feds" get their money? Here's another hint: the taxpayers.
Which gets me back to my point. Stop taxing people to pay for other people's kids and they might just be able to afford to provide for their own kids. Besides, You don't think there might just be a liiiiiiiiitle bit of skimming going on with these transactions?
No. She doesn’t work in the cafeteria. They get new packages of milk every day. I highly doubt they expire in one day.
Again, lobby your local legislator to end the program.
I work for the “government” and I still pay taxes. But I guess in your eyes your “tax dollars” are more worthy than mine.
Maybe your wife doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
(sigh) This is why we end up with people like Barack Obama and John McCain to choose from.
Who did you vote for in the primaries? And if not McCain why didn’t your candidate win?
And its your state US house and US state senate rep you have an issue with.
Call them to end the NS/BL and FS program.
LOL. Yeah. You're probably right. She's from Airzona so she probably thinks those round, gray plastic containers lined with trash bags are refrigerators. And she thinks that great big metal bin outside that smells like garbage and gets dumped every Friday is a storage building.
I’m from AZ too. I don’t claim to know all the rules and regs regarding when milk is lawful and fresh to serve.
I just think there might be a problem about milk that’s been sitting out for a period of time; refrigerate it; and serve it the next day without violate some law.
“If I were a resident of Oceanside, I’d be raising bloody hell over false advertising and a complete waste of my money.”
Huh? The residents of Oceanside are elated. They are getting free junk food meals at the expense of state and federal taxpayers.
And if not McCain why didn’t your candidate win?
Because there are too many people in California who think like you.
And its your state US house and US state senate rep you have an issue with.
Amen, bro. Well, actually my Rep is a good Conservative, but Boxer and Feinstein? Sheeeyit.
Call them to end the NS/BL and FS program.
Roger that.
The Feds audit the nutrition contents of meals served for those who get federal program monies.
Good luck in your endeavor.
“Huh? The residents of Oceanside are elated. They are getting free junk food meals at the expense of state and federal taxpayers.”
You do realize that the majority of Oceanside residents aren’t being targeted by this program, don’t you? It’s just those who traditionally live off of socialized welfare benefits.
“Entry into the food stamp program is entirely based upon income.”
Its based upon based on submittal of an application; meeting the requirements, such as: income; property; liquid resources; and in some cases, registering for job services.
And providing verification of all of the above.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.