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I decided to pay off a school’s lunch debt

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Re: I decided to pay off a school’s lunch debt

#271

Post by FireBeyond »

senectus1 wrote: post #184
bombcar wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US has discovered that there's a substantial portion of the population (which for this could be 1%, 10%, 20% whatever) who is really bad at raising kids, basically. If the school doesn't provide lunch, the kids would simply not eat any lunch. So they provide lunches, because it's easier than handling the fallout from some kids not eating, etc. As a child I never had "provided lunch" but I also went to private sch…

>The US has discovered that there's a substantial portion of the population (which for this could be 1%, 10%, 20% whatever) who is really bad at raising kids, basically. I'm a center-lefty, but America appears to be mostly right and I find it fascinating that this is just "accepted". Why does America just accept that some (a large enough number that most schools have to feed them) people cant raise their kids?

Because for a not insubstantial portion of America, they see it as their "Christian duty".

I see people on Facebook who refer to their kids, unironically, as "future warriors for Christ".

Re: I decided to pay off a school’s lunch debt

#272

Post by delfinom »

rufus_foreman wrote: post #202
mproud wrote: post #63

I love living in Minnesota. Walz passed the Free Meals for School Kids Program[^1] at my elementary school, no less! about two years ago. I’m happy that other states are finally realizing, gee, this is such a straightforward issue we could actually solve. [^1] https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/FNS/SNP/free/

>> gee, this is such a straightforward issue we could actually solve Shifting the cost from the parents who had the kids onto the taxpayers is not solving the problem. It's making people who didn't cause the problem subsidize the people who did cause the problem. That's not solving the problem. It's making sure there will be more problems.

I will blow your fucking mind.

The entire economic future of you and all the taxpayers depends on those kids growing up.

Our entire economic structure is a ponzi scheme at global scale. It depends on kids growing up and cashing into the stock market so people can cash out of their 401ks.

So why not ensure those little gremlins and nice and plump when they grow up so we can retire more easily.

Re: I decided to pay off a school’s lunch debt

#273

Post by bigstrat2003 »

relaxing wrote: post #156
wonderwonder wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you started a local movement to pay for kids schools lunches? If not, should we assume its due to malice as you know there is a problem and "don't do anything"?

Individually managed efforts doesn’t scale. If you were cynical you might think that is precisely why some favor that solution.

> If you were cynical you might think that is precisely why some favor that solution.

On the contrary. Many people favor individually managed efforts because they disagree with your premise, and believe that such efforts scale better than centrally managed ones.

Re: I decided to pay off a school’s lunch debt

#274

Post by gs17 »

alwa wrote: post #48
infecto wrote: post #12

Nit: could not stand the writing style. It took 3-4x more words than it should have. On the topic I agree and believe strongly that all kids should receive free food at school. It amazes me people will fight to prevent when to me the costs are small but the benefit can be huge for the next generation.

It frustrates me when advocates get righteous about something that they only imagine and don’t take the time to see for themselves (while claiming it’s widespread and easy to observe): “I never actually witnessed this scene myself, but I’ve interviewed enough lunch ladies, principals and kids to construct a sort of composite mental image that now plays on an endless loop between my ears. It’s become my own personal f…

>the kid doesn’t go hungry, the kid gets a sandwich instead of an institutional pizza slice.

Unless it's gotten a lot better from when I was in grade school, the "alternative meal" was the bare minimum they could get away with (it was a piece of white bread with cheese, although it sounds like now the standard is a seed-butter sandwich). It doesn't exist to feed the kid, it exists to shame them, and any nutrition provided is a happy coincidence.

I had to get it once as a kid (although my parents didn't get a bill) and it was too embarrassing to even eat. Even at a table with all your friends you feel like an outsider through no fault of your own.

Re: I decided to pay off a school’s lunch debt

#275

Post by trollbridge »

llm_nerd wrote: post #141
andreicap wrote: post #25

My poor country (Moldova) just implemented free lunches for kids in primary and middle schools. What is the reason US doesn’t have this already at federal level?

My rich country that is often accused of "socialism" (Canada) has no real lunch program at any school level. Kids pack and bring their own lunch, though a lot of high schools have a bespoke cafeteria where you can buy some fries or a burger, it operates more like a restaurant than a meal plan, and elementary/middle schools don't have kitchens at all. With four kids I've made a lot of lunches over the years. More rece…

I have the same observation in Canada. There seems to be way less "benefits" in terms of things like the food stamps program in America. I am a bit appalled at the situation with some acquaintances of mine in Ontario who simply struggle to afford food each month; they don't make a great deal of money but they just do not qualify for any assistance. Food banks are not well stocked either.

Meanwhile in my quite red state, a family at the 20th percentile of household income with 1 kid will get $480 in food assistance per month, which is basically enough to afford groceries to stay afloat.

My son's school is private but has a "free lunch" program (apparently paid for out of grants and involving the local grocery store's deli); we send him with a lunch we pack ourselves because we prefer he not eat Goldfish and apple juice boxes every day.

Re: I decided to pay off a school’s lunch debt

#276

Post by timewizard »

bonestamp2 wrote: post #244
irrational wrote: post #208

I’m thankful I live in a state that uses my tax money to make all school breakfast and lunches free. I wonder what percentage of state taxes is actually required to pay for all school breakfast and lunches? Making sure kids aren’t inhibited from learning because of empty stomachs seems like a no brainer.

The other important part of this policy is that it normalizes kids not paying for lunch. This is important because they realized many kids who couldn't afford lunch were still skipping their free lunch because they were embarrassed to get a free lunch. When everyone gets a free lunch then nobody is embarrassed.

I've heard of some schools going out of their way to make it obvious which kids were receiving free lunch and which weren't; however, that wasn't universal to all programs.

Our school just had "lunch tickets." There was a register on a different floor from the lunch room where you could go buy them, pick them up if your parents bought them by check, or pick them up if you were on the assistance list. Once you had them they were all the same. Only the person at the register would know your status.

None of my friends who got that ever were embarrassed in any way about using them as they were the only ones to know.

Re: I decided to pay off a school’s lunch debt

#277

Post by giantg2 »

vineyardmike wrote: post #247
giantg2 wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"it is a total moral bankruptcy for a society to have their children starve for their parents dysfunction." Sounds like child services should take those children then? If they can't apply for the lunches, then surely they aren't getting food at home, nor the proper medical care.

> Sounds like child services should take those children then? This is a HUGE, dangerous leap. > If they can't apply for the lunches, then surely they aren't getting food at home, nor the proper medical care. Plenty of parents (and plenty of people generally) just aren't aware of social services but are quite aware that they're supposed to feed and care for their children. Plenty more forget to fill out paperwork and…

"This is a HUGE, dangerous leap."

If you're telling me they are "starving" then it isn't.

Re: I decided to pay off a school’s lunch debt

#278

Post by crashabr »

brundolf wrote: post #196

Many people, especially in our subculture, tend to feel like if they can't solve an entire problem forever, if they can't Change The World, what they're doing is futile and pointless But most people can't change the world. Most individuals shouldn't have the power to change the world. What we can do is be a force for good in the lives that are proximal to us. If we can make a few people's lives better, we should rest…

Your comment is a breath of fresh air coming from the comment section between the article about self hosting emails. Even beyond the moral imperative, it's saddening how a website called hackernews seems to have such a high amount of late stage capitalism drones.

Re: I decided to pay off a school’s lunch debt

#279

Post by timewizard »

internetter wrote: post #34
M3L0NM4N wrote: post #4

Is the overhead in deciding who gets free lunch and who doesn't and then managing the debt really saving more money than just giving all public school kids free lunches with no strings attached?

Without reading into lunch specifically, I'd very much be inclined to say yes. The reason is, I spent many hours researching the fair structure of my transit agency. Fares that have, obviously, been in the news for being harming to low income citizens. What I found was that the city spent almost 1 billion on upgrading their collection systems, whereas the yearly revenue from those same systems amounted to 1/10th of t…

> but our governments are awful at spending our money.

No. They're really good at it. There's a lot of kick backs, deal making, and free tickets behind that purchase. You know how hard it is, from the inside, to push through a billion dollar long shot like that? Nearly impossible. Whoever did this pulled a miracle to make that happen.

Our governments are bad at punishing corruption and graft.

Re: I decided to pay off a school’s lunch debt

#280

Post by tmpz22 »

M3L0NM4N wrote: post #4

Is the overhead in deciding who gets free lunch and who doesn't and then managing the debt really saving more money than just giving all public school kids free lunches with no strings attached?

While we bicker this inane question a much vaster sum is being transferred to the ultra wealthy from the public coffers.

Penny Rich Dollar Poor.

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