Against Free School Meals

Consuming nutritious foods directly relate to a child’s mental and physical health. Food gives the body energy needed to sustain students throughout the school day contributing to their academic success. The government should mandate free meals just as they mandate school attendance in early childhood education programs. In Rapides Parish and guardians face possible jail time if a child is truant for continuing to arrive to class late or misses more than fourteen school days. If early childhood education is important to the government to the point that they use a parent’s freedom as leverage to ensure attendance, why would all of the factors that contribute to academic success not factor in as well? Providing every student with free school

Peer acceptance is important to students who so easily conform to society’s idea of what is acceptable. For example, students perceived as poor by their peers is the cause of humiliation and mental health issues such as depression, which ultimately result in poor academic performance from students. Children face the social stigma that if they qualify for free school meals, their peers think they are poor. It exposes them to a harsh environment that involves shaming, teasing, and bullying. In addition, with the approval of school authority, the cafeteria staff is able to use embarrassing tactics such as calling out negative balances to children in lunch lines and passing out daily copies of their negative balances in class. It makes it easier for children to distinguish which families are financially stable and which families struggle with finances. As a result, this act of shaming

The income threshold to qualify for free meals is extremely low, which makes it a hardship to pay. For example, a family’s gross income is the determining factor when applying for free or reduced meals and the net pay is drastically lower than the gross pay due to standards such as higher insurance premiums. Why take into consideration salary that never makes it into the home when determining a family’s financial liability for school meals? More families would qualify for free or reduced meals if they could apply based on net pay instead of gross pay. In the end, parents have just enough money to get by after payroll deductions, paying household bills, and purchasing food for the home. Yes, home prepared meals are an option for students required to pay for lunch, but it is not always an easy task. The meals require storage and must maintain a non-perishable temperature until eaten. The fact is, if parents struggle to pay for school meals, they probably can’t afford to send separate non-perishable meals from home to school. A parent should not worry whether they can afford school lunches when school attendance is a legal