# What the heck is going on with our school lunch program? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 17, 2019, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130 "2019-05-17T21:04:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/41 "2019-05-19T03:11:28Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Somehow, no one is worrying that the kids with well-off parents aren’t learning that “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”. If teaching work ethic is so important, then start a program where EVERY student does labor towards the upkeep of their school. But singling out the young children of economically disadvantaged parents for cruel lessons in the harsh realities of life is just wrong. > . They do this in Japan. They have ALL the kids doing some job like sweeping floors and such. And if kids are NOT doing the basics like learning and only causing trouble like roaming the halls, I have no problem taking away their free lunch. You probably have no idea how bad inner city schools are. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/42 "2019-05-19T04:18:39Z")
Jr. High school, mid-1970’s: Milk 6¢, meals 40¢, figured out on my own that having a penny, nickle, dime and quarter in my pocket would cover me whatever direction I went for lunch. High school was more of a variable, but I was mostly brown bagging it after seeing the truck unloading cases of McDonalds frozen french fries with a big REJECTED sticker on them. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/43 "2019-05-19T04:26:15Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Going the other direction … > > I have a relative who teaches at a grade school with so many kids qualifying for free lunches that the school decided to make them free to everybody to save on the administrative hassles and all that. > > So it’s not all bad out there, but it shouldn’t be bad anywhere. That’s happening in a lot of places. Many schools are also offering free breakfast to all children, also no questions asked. In the early 00s, my dad was still working sometimes as a substitute teacher, and said that any school that had more than a certain percentage of students who qualified for free- and reduced-price lunch got fruit that all students could take for free, 1 fruit per child. It was mostly “Delicious” apples, oranges, and bananas, with peaches, plums, or pears in season. They were supposed to discard all untaken fruit each day, but most of the schools didn’t, so the staff would bring bags and take fruit home with them. He’d never seen unripe, inedible fruit being served either, which other people have told me about, so that was a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/44 "2019-05-19T04:38:28Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > According to [THIS](https://www.ajc.com/news/national/chef-jose-andres-hears-plight-lunch-lady-fired-after-giving-lunch-student-who-couldn-pay/o2qM7D19ojzWOQ3hJa5hwM/) article, a local chef heard about this, agreed it was wrong, and reached out to her offering her a job at one of his restaurants. By “local chef” I assume you’re meaning Jose Andres, who is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. > **[José Andrés](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Andr%C3%A9s)** > > José Ramón Andrés Puerta (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Spanish pronunciation: \[xoˈse raˈmon anˈdɾes ˈpweɾta\]; born 13 July 1969) is a Spanish and American chef and restaurateur. Born in Spain, he moved to the United States in the early 1990s and since then, he has opened restaurants in several American cities. He has won a numbe... ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/45 "2019-05-19T04:53:01Z")
I saw on the news that the cafeteria worker was offered her old job back, but turned them down. I would too. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/46 "2019-05-19T05:14:42Z")
Do they still let kids bring their own lunch? I did that in elementary school. But ate cafeteria lunches the rest of my time in school. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/47 "2019-05-19T10:08:00Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I > At our local high schools teachers noticed many kids would only stay up until they got their free lunch then they would skip the rest of the day and leave. So the teachers drafted a plan that any kid doing this should no longer get free lunch. And if they aren’t getting a free lunch, they’ve got no reason to come to school at all. Well at least that helps solve the overcrowding problem in the school classrooms. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/48 "2019-05-19T22:50:56Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > That’s happening in a lot of places. Many schools are also offering free breakfast to all children, also no questions asked. > > In the early 00s, my dad was still working sometimes as a substitute teacher, and said that any school that had more than a certain percentage of students who qualified for free- and reduced-price lunch got fruit that all students could take for free, 1 fruit per child. It was mostly “Delicious” apples, oranges, and bananas, with peaches, plums, or pears in season. They were supposed to discard all untaken fruit each day, but most of the schools didn’t, so the staff would bring bags and take fruit home with them. He’d never seen unripe, inedible fruit being served either, which other people have told me about, so that was a good thing. This is to the school’s advantage these days. A not-hungry child is going to learn better. Schools are graded on student performance. The school scores are critical to the school and they will do anything they can think of to give themselves an edge. And kids don’t eat for lots of reasons, money being a relatively minor one. So the school plan is to push meals for all kids regardless. Peer pressure is one way to get everyone to eat lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/49 "2019-05-19T23:31:05Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > This is to the school’s advantage these days. A not-hungry child is going to learn better. Schools are graded on student performance. The school scores are critical to the school and they will do anything they can think of to give themselves an edge. > > And kids don’t eat for lots of reasons, money being a relatively minor one. So the school plan is to push meals for all kids regardless. Peer pressure is one way to get everyone to eat lunch. I think if you actually looked at most of the inner city kids you could tell they dont miss many meals. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/50 "2019-05-19T23:32:52Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > And if they aren’t getting a free lunch, they’ve got no reason to come to school at all. > > Well at least that helps solve the overcrowding problem in the school classrooms. The ones only coming for a free lunch are the idiot ones who schools are better off with not having anyways. Thing is there ARE some good kids out there, even in the inner cities, who WANT a good education. Problem is that minority who cause most of the problems so the teachers cant teach and the kids cant learn. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/51 "2019-05-19T23:47:41Z")
When the son was in high school we were somewhat dismays to discover that the lunch period was in the range of 25 minutes. So they all ate like Tasmanian Devils, because NO CHILD CAN BE LEFT BEHIND!!!11! (Even the ones that required three resource officers to sit on to get the ‘child’ to stop breaking things…) ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/52 "2019-05-20T00:06:08Z")
> [@The\_Vorlon](#): > > When the son was in high school we were somewhat dismays to discover that the lunch period was in the range of 25 minutes. So they all ate like Tasmanian Devils, because NO CHILD CAN BE LEFT BEHIND!!!11! (Even the ones that required three resource officers to sit on to get the ‘child’ to stop breaking things…) I had 10 minutes in school, 25 minutes seems more then enough though, a McD’s has a sign limiting seating to 20 minutes. after all how long does it take to eat a lunch? And what to do with more time, just sit there? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/53 "2019-05-20T02:52:01Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > The ones only coming for a free lunch are the idiot ones who schools are better off with not having anyways. > > Thing is there ARE some good kids out there, even in the inner cities, who WANT a good education. Problem is that minority who cause most of the problems so the teachers cant teach and the kids cant learn. even in the inner cities? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/54 "2019-05-20T03:14:47Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I had 10 minutes in school, 25 minutes seems more then enough though, a McD’s has a sign limiting seating to 20 minutes. after all how long does it take to eat a lunch? And what to do with more time, just sit there? That 25 minutes included getting to the caf from three buildings away (flush twice!), getting the food from the staff who will never need to be tested for Meth, and back to a classroom two buildings in the opposite direction. No wonder why eating disorders were so prevalent. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/55 "2019-05-20T21:41:10Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > The ones only coming for a free lunch are the idiot ones who schools are better off with not having anyways. > > Thing is there ARE some good kids out there, even in the inner cities, who WANT a good education. Problem is that minority who cause most of the problems so the teachers cant teach and the kids cant learn. I know what you mean. Inner city = black. Are you going to advocate re-segregating schools next? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/56 "2019-05-20T21:42:36Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > McD’s has a sign limiting seating to 20 minutes. This may be to prevent loitering. Kids also use their lunch hour for social time, and recess if they’re younger. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/57 "2019-05-20T22:38:31Z")
There are many school districts throughout the country that are going to _free lunch for all_. And there is a proven cost savings associated with it. Especially in poorer districts where there is a high percentage of needy families. By eliminating the administration of the free lunch program and collecting data on needy families the school districts have found that the money saved from the back office administration more than pays for all of the additional free lunches. It also eliminates the stigma of showing your special card that says you are on free lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/58 "2019-05-20T23:28:28Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > The ones only coming for a free lunch are the idiot ones who schools are better off with not having anyways. > > Thing is there ARE some good kids out there, even in the inner cities, who WANT a good education. Problem is that minority who cause most of the problems so the teachers cant teach and the kids cant learn. Teaching would be a much nicer job if it wasn’t for the students. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/59 "2019-05-21T07:44:11Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > According to [THIS](https://www.ajc.com/news/national/chef-jose-andres-hears-plight-lunch-lady-fired-after-giving-lunch-student-who-couldn-pay/o2qM7D19ojzWOQ3hJa5hwM/) article, a local chef heard about this, agreed it was wrong, and reached out to her offering her a job at one of his restaurants. … that guy again… OK; how come every time I hear any news from the US mentioning a chef, it’s that guy? Not very local btw: while his company may have local openings, the lunch lady is in New Hampshire. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130/60 "2019-05-21T08:12:11Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Here’s the OP’s [school lunch menu](https://mascoma.nutrislice.com/menu/mascoma-high-school/lunch/2019-05-18). Full priced lunches for HS students are 2.60. Reduced lunches are .40. This kid had $8.00 in food on his tray. She said herself that she knew the kid’s family. So what it appears to be is her slipping merch to friends’ kid. That seems like theft to me. > > This isn’t “lunch shaming” or anything like that. > > StG From the link AND QUOTED in the OP: She told the student to make sure to pay the next day. She wasn’t worried as she had known the boy’s parents since they were children, and had no doubt that the $8 lunch tab would soon be taken care of. And the next morning, she told CNN, that’s exactly what happened. So, no. What happened is what happened to me ALL THE TIME at school, where I forgot my money and had to bum a lunch, and then paid it back later. And if there had been any evidence that she’d actually stolen anything, why would the school be trying to give her her job back? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-our-school-lunch-program/834130.md?page=4)