[driftless2]

There was a news story broadcast not too long ago in my hometown of La Crosse, Wis. where some local educrats seriously wondered to the cameras how the schoolkids were going to eat if federal lunch programs were cut. I wanted to throw a brick through my tv screen as I shrieked "how about their parents provide a lunch for them?"

All to no avail. Now they want summer lunch programs. Oh my, the poor kids will starve to death if the government doesn't give them a "free" lunch. My wife has to tell me to calm down and watch my blood pressure when I see these things on tv.

[Rusty0604]

There’s some districts in CA ( and probably elsewhere) where they have free after school care along with free dinners.

[Bigg Red]

In Baltimore, it is not enough that the public school students are given meals at school. Many of them are sent home each Friday with a backpack full of food for the weekend. And there are pick-ups set up for summertime and for breaks.

[Daffynition]

We have to thank Title 1 program enacted in 1965 under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. And No Child Left Behind [1994].

The Title 1 funds are largely a boon to schools; I wish they had in place an audit system, to determine how principals spend the money. These funds are a major part of the budget of an individual school, since most BoE have cut back their budgets significantly.