Eating

An Associated Press writer said today that in tough times, more students feed on free lunches. I think she missed the point when she also quoted the Food Research and Action Center in Washington that said more families are signing up for free school lunches for their children as they look for ways to trim their food budgets.

As a child who sometimes participated in the school lunch program and as a mother who did the same for her son, I know that it's not about how much is costs really, but rather the ability to feed your child. If you're not working and your child goes to school, you know that at least they will eat one meal at school and then you can provide dinner that night. It just happens to be free because you have no earned income at the time. Many times kids don't make the time or have the time to eat breakfast in the morning. Even something as simple as cold cereal, toast or oatmeal. Sometimes if the child qualifies for free lunch they can also participate in a free breakfast program, if the school provides one.

In the 1970's when I was in elementary school, they used to cook and serve good, wholesome food in the cafeteria, but somehow, somewhere in the 1990's this practice was lost to fast food and soda. They would serve meat, vegetables and fruit every day and hardly anything was deep fried in oil. In the school district where I live now, I know that all food is prepared at one site and then trucked to be heated up at all the others as a cost cutting measure. You don't have to hire a school cook for each site if they are only cooking at one. You don't have to fire up all the equipment daily if all you're doing is turning on the warming trays in the cafeteria line. Less clean up, too.

See: In tough times, more students feed on free lunches