Posted on 06/18/2022 6:02:14 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
A federal waiver that made school breakfasts and lunches free to students regardless of their family’s income is set to expire June 30, eliminating a benefit that has helped millions of schoolchildren at a time when they need it more than ever, anti-hunger advocates say.
The free school meals program began in March 2020 when Congress authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue dozens of child nutrition waivers, including ones that expanded summer food programs, to provide a lifeline during the pandemic.
If the waivers end this month as scheduled, experts foresee a crisis as families, already facing soaring prices at supermarkets, gas stations and elsewhere, lose access to meals that their children have counted on for the last two years.
While some states, such as California, have passed universal free school meal programs and others have introduced legislation proposing them, advocates are hoping Congress will take action.
“Just like kids get a free bus ride to school and textbooks to learn from, they need a meal in the middle of the day to be able to focus on their studies,” Pratt-Heavner said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Lunch is not hard, nor is it expensive. The government does provide some assistance for poor people and their weekly shopping needs. I see them at the supermarket all the time.
If a kid is going to school without a lunch, then that means the kid has a terrible and irresponsible parent. Probably with a substance abuse problem. Free School lunches are not a solution to the real problem. I see no reason for free food at school. In addition, most of the kids are fat and won’t be hurt with less food.
What happened to personal Responsibility? Yes I know they want everyone on a guberment teat so they can control them.
The program will end for a week then the dems will come out with a new and improved (read taxpayer costly) program and “save” the children. At least save the ones that have were not aborted.
Biden can simply extend it. Congress won’t say a thing.
We are ruled under executive orders now.
We are a republic in name only.
...began in March 2020?” Must mean free for every Student...of course...socialism.
——I see no reason for free food at school.——
Well, one would be reducing the billions of pounds of the government cheese stockpile. I saw a video showing endless stacks of cheese stored in temperature and humidty controlled storage.
The article has it backwards. These stupid school lunch programs adopted in 2020 did nothing but artificially drive up demand for food that wasn’t needed. Eliminate this crap, and we might actually see some relief from inflation at the grocery store.
About time.
If a kid’s parents don’t feed them breakfast or send lunch the kid has much bigger problem than missing meals.
These free meals are on top of Food Stamps for the poorer sector....seems like double dipping.
I’m semi-old, 72, but in my day, they had a term for parents who would send their kids to school without lunch. It was called child abuse.
They will just make the benefit permanent.
I may be an old guy but I was required to eat my breakfast (Prepared by my Mother - what a concept) before going to school. At lunch time I opened up my lunch box that I carried with me and had whatever my Mother prepared for lunch. It was simple and smart. If my lunch was something I didn’t like I could always trade it. Of course, that was women were home makers and ensured their own children were taken care of. (Ummmm maybe that is part of the definition of a women)
It's NOT free. Working folks pay taxes to the federal.gov. Some of those taxes pay for the "Free" lunches. During the alleged pandemic schools were shuttered but "free" lunches continued. Was there a reduction in the portion of property tax paid to the schools even though they were shuttered...even a very small portion? No. Gotta keep that tax money flowing to the .gov coffers.
Yeah... there u go Joey! One more for the Road SFB.
Whaaaaah.
Feed YOUR OWN kids....make them breakfast, lunch and dinner.
These same people whining about no more free meals are ones who drive late model cars, have free housing and EBT cards they use for things OTHER than good, nutritious food, for their kids.
Get up off of that thing and learn to cook.
Elizabeth Chuck
Another know-nothing ninny long on emotion but very very short on brains and real life experience.
Journalism is lousy with ‘em these days.
Crunchy peanut butter and strawberry jam on Dave’s Killer Bread. Can’t be beat.
It’s not my fault nor my problem if your kid has peanut allergies.
Exactly. That is the point of all the angst. Permanent dependence.
So ironic. The Dems have campaigned for decades on the fear that Republicans are going to starve the children by stealing their school lunch program.
I am 82.
There NEVER was a kid in the school I went to that didn’t have a lunch.
There was NO cafeteria. We could buy a carton of 8 ounces of milk out of a machine for 5 cents.
4 kids in my family. EVERY DAY, an entire loaf of Wonder bread was used for peanut butter & jelly sandwiches-—5 days a week==5 loaves of bread.
Same sandwiches all year long. I do NOT remember a single gripe from any of my brothers.
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