The Los Angeles Times is on the case of mean government bureaucrats who are making poor, innocent kids cry in their lunch milk.
CHULA VISTA, CALIF. — When too many parents fell behind on paying for
school lunches, the Chula Vista Elementary School District decided to get tough — on the children.They told students with deadbeat parents that they had only one lunch choice: a cheese sandwich.
The sandwich, served on whole wheat bread, came with a clear message: Tell your parents to pay up — or no more pizza and burgers for you.
Cheese sandwiches and other "alternate meals" have been added to menus in school districts across the country as they try to take a bite out ofparents' lunch debts.
The strategy worked in Chula Vista: Lunch debts in the district fell from about $300,000 in 2004 to $67,000 in 2006. Some angry parents say success came at too high a cost, however.
The cheese sandwich, they say, has become a badge of shame for the children, who get teased about it by their classmates. One student cried when her macaroni and cheese was replaced with a sandwich. A little girl hid in a restroom to avoid getting one. Many of the sandwiches end up untouched or tossed whole in the garbage. Sometimes kids pound them to pieces.
Staff writer Richard Marosi did eventually get around to quoting a taxpayer who urged parents to suck it up and pay the lunch tab, but that was shoved deep into the article after a few complaints from parents about those meanies at the school board.
—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Isn't this a good thing? I
June 18, 2007 - 14:40 ET by Darth DutchIsn't this a good thing? I mean, don't we hear all the time how unhealthy the pizza and burgers are for our kids and that we should have healthier foods served? Whole grain bread is used and cheese; not very many calories. These same people that complain about them not getting the fatty foods would probably complain when they do get it that we are contributing to childhood obesity.
Dutch
Good point, DD. Of course, wh
June 18, 2007 - 15:31 ET by ThisnThatGood point, DD. Of course, when I was growing up (some might dispute the fact that I actually did), cheese sandwiches were the norm. I never even had a pizza. Hamburgers were special, maybe 4 or 5 times a year. Didn't complain, though. Always took my lunch or did without. No one complained. Sometimes had meat (like balogna) -- and did I mention, never complained?
I don't give a flying &^%$% about complainers. Parents or kids. Get off the public dole. Give up your cigarettes or beer; cancel you cable; buy shoes once a year (if you're lucky) -- but stop the bitching and stop using MY money. And MSM -- Stop facilitating this. What a bunch of creeps.
(See? Like I said, some question whether I ever grew up) :-)
Something I don't understand;
June 18, 2007 - 17:05 ET by RESTLESS 1Something I don't understand; why are the poor people who can't afford a school lunch so FAT????? I go through poorer neighborhoods and all I see are less than svelte females in various degrees of undress. It is disgusting.
Hang on, I am going for a ride.
I say for no more free lunche
June 18, 2007 - 14:41 ET by HypocriteHaterI say no more free lunches, period, for all those kids who threw out their cheese sandwiches. Obviously, they're not starving for lunch if they so callously tossed away food that was paid for with hard earned tax dollars.
I suspect this is typical of people who receive free things as part of the government welfare system. No appreciation whatsoever!
Want to know what I got whe
June 18, 2007 - 14:42 ET by MightyMouthWant to know what I got when I went to school without Lunch money?
Nada, zilch, nothing. zippo, hungry.
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
Brought mine, if I forgot, be
June 18, 2007 - 15:13 ET by FastEdBrought mine, if I forgot, begged friends for a little of theirs - sometimes had something, sometimes the same lunch as you - AND, we weren't obese either - might have had something to do with taking Gym class and sports.
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
When I was in high school, th
June 18, 2007 - 16:15 ET by BradzillaWhen I was in high school, the "stonies" would frequently sell their lunch tickets for about half of what a lunch would cost, presumably to buy reefer or more attractive munchies. That used to really irritate me.
Question:If these parents are
June 18, 2007 - 15:07 ET by Dave RQuestion:
If these parents are too strapped to even pay for their kid's school lunches, then what the hell are they doing having children?
Taking the tax credit... obvi
June 18, 2007 - 15:16 ET by KhyrisTaking the tax credit... obviously
If these parents are too stra
June 18, 2007 - 15:18 ET by ErgoDyneIf these parents are too strapped to even pay for their kid's school lunches, then what the hell are they doing having children?
Getting more government money, Dave! More kids = more handouts
I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it.
Probably using the rhythm m
June 18, 2007 - 16:18 ET by balboaProbably using the rhythm method...
Why can't the kids pack the
June 18, 2007 - 16:29 ET by ScottyDogWhy can't the kids pack their lunch from home? I am from a middle class family and we always packed our lunch due to the garbage the school served for meals.
I cannot believe that they are even allowing them to get food without paying for it.
Judging the results from Chula Vista, the issue does not seem to by money.
Is this Mexico or the USA
I remember when they read lib
June 18, 2007 - 16:40 ET by whatajoyI remember when they read library fines over the intercom system in junior high. It was so embarrassing because while most fines were 10, 20, 80 cents mine were like $8 or something. Public humiliation is horrific in school because you are trying your best to NOT bring attention to yourself. It's one thing if I cause it (not returning a book) but if a parent causes it and I'M punished for it, that would be horrific. Ugh!!
Yeah, a cheese sandwich is healthier than a slice of pizza, sure, but that's not the point of the cheese sandwich. The point is humiliation, which should never be done to children. It's tough enough in school just to fit in without your parents embarrassing you in front of them (hugs, kisses, loud cluncker cars, etc.) now this.
I disagree with this punishment message system via the kids. That is so not right. Those poor kids.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Take it easy! We're not making a western here.
~ Uncle Junior (The Sopranos)
Do you also think kids shou
June 19, 2007 - 12:02 ET by Ken ShepherdDo you also think kids should not have their homework and papers corrected in red ink because it damages their psyche?
What's more, some might argue that the very act of a kid having a free-or-reduced-lunch identity card is a stigma in and of itself. Should we get rid of that requirement as well?
Universal free lunch, maybe. Everyone gets stale bread and icky cheese.
Or maybe getting rid of school lunches or farming it out to private restaurateurs would be a better idea.
Say cheese (sandwich)
June 18, 2007 - 16:47 ET by rubylensMy son goes to a relatively affluent school district in central Texas. They do the cheese sandwich thing here, too. Before I started using an online school lunch prepayment system that automatically refills itself from my credit/debit card when the balance gets low, my son would occasionally run out of lunch money in his account. He'd get the cheese sandwich, eat it unhappily, and would without fail remind me that very night that he needed more money in his account. It works--the kid will do all he can to make sure mom and dad give him lunch money after the appearance of the dreaded cheese sandwich! (It wasn't embarrassment--it's that they were dry and unappetizing. But he ate them anyway.)
My kid actually likes school lunches--they apparently make pretty decent meals here--and they only cost $2.00 for an elementary size meal. I know that poor families can qualify for reduced or even free lunches. So the schools are asking them for $10 or less per week for lunch--that's about the same as two Happy Meals. And I agree with others here--there's nothing in the world wrong with a cheese sandwich!!!
All of this talk of cheese sa
June 18, 2007 - 17:01 ET by RESTLESS 1All of this talk of cheese sandwiches is making me hungry. I actually like them. But the important thing in the article is being missed, this worked. $233,000 off of the debt in about 2 years. I think they are on to something. How about serving cheese sandwiches to the Senate and House? :)
"Something I don't und
June 18, 2007 - 19:09 ET by ckc1227"Something I don't understand; why are the poor people who can't afford a school lunch so FAT?????"
This reminds me of something I noticed, whenever I see video of illegals who have been caught crossing the border, none of them appear to be on the verge of starvation either. Sure, there's a skinny one every now and then, but hell, I"m skinny, and trust me, I never miss a meal, lol.