Posted on 02/13/2010 4:14:42 PM PST by reaganaut1
TAKOMA PARK, Md. – As back-to-back snowstorms shuttered schools for the week across the mid-Atlantic states, parents fretted about lost learning time, administrators scheduled makeup days and teachers posted assignments online. But Marla Caplon worried about a more fundamental problem: How would students eat?
The two snowstorms that pummeled the region, leaving more than 3 feet of snow in some areas, deprived tens of thousands of children from Virginia to Pennsylvania of the free or reduced-price school lunch that may be their only nutritious meal of the day. The nonprofits that try to meet the need when school is not in session also closed their doors for much of the week, leaving many families looking at bare cupboards. And many parents working hourly jobs were unable to earn any money during the week, as the snow forced businesses to close.
Caplon is a food services supervisor for Montgomery County Public Schools, where about 43,000 children are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Some also get breakfast, dinner and bags of staple foods to take home for the weekend. The snow days meant children would get none of that until Tuesday, because schools are closed Monday for Presidents Day.
"We've been bothered by this all week," Caplon said.
So Caplon arranged for Manna Food Center, a local food bank whose board she chairs, to bring boxes of food Friday to two still-closed elementary schools. Officials used the school district's automated phone system to notify parents of the distribution.
At Rolling Terrace Elementary School, a stream of people walked up to a Manna truck in the school's bus bay Friday. They filled plastic shopping bags with cans of soup, vegetables and beans, ground beef and Rice Krispy Treats.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
They don’t fail me. Arrogant beggers, thats all Mexicans are.
I take it the nice lady has never been in a lunchroom and seen the amount of food that was thrown out. Was a bit surprised when I went to eat lunch with my kids.
Growing up I had real cooks in the school kitchen cooking real food - goulash was big, along with many other big pot specials. Kids in the sixties cleaned the trays right down to the shine.
It’s a national policy. Metro areas have select lunchrooms open year-round. Rural areas would have 1 out of the three open.
Things sure have changed since I was in school. We didn’t have vending machines to fight about junk food. We couldn’t wear shorts. We couldn’t leave for lunch. Only kids from low income familes could get free lunch during school hours.
I know Auburn, WA they continue to feed them during the summer!
Free lunch equals more available for cigerettes, booze, dope
Same here. I learn of all of these things through my co-workers with children in the system. Heck, I had to shovel coal into the furnace on really cold days because the janitor was wore-out.
I was lucky to grow up in a rural school district where rational was still the norm into the 80s.
Isn't not feeding your kids properly a form of child abuse?
So, why aren't these criminally negligent parents in jail or standing before a judge to explain it and maybe lose their kids,... instead of sitting around bitching about the school system's failure?
This is the most ridiculous story I have read. We are the fattest people on the face of the earth. I find it hard to believe that anyone is starving in this country.
Why even school lunches? Fer Godsakes, NO ONE is so poor that they can’t scrape together a bologna sandwich for a kid with some fritos that would cost, what, 50 cents? Dysfunctional maybe, but not poor.
Sounds pretty realistic to me.
vaudine
It’s more of the same old BS. Public schools are mere baby sitters as far as many parents are concerned. That’s why so many parents get pissed off when teachers go on strike. No baby sitter for the duration.
I’m sure Mommy can provide some food during the month since she probably also gets food stamps.
Well if you really want to know, they run free lunch programs in city parks during the summer. Seriously I kid you not!
In my work with at risk kids, the parents who don’t bother to feed their children are usually citizens who just don’t give a damn about their kids. In some cases it’s poverty but most of the time it’s neglect.
...but now we’re sending food home with them?
&&&
C’mon, the kiddies need something to munch on while they’re playing Wii or XBox or just watching their big screen TV.
Why do we giving out food stamps?
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