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The cheese sandwich controversy
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Yesterday, the story broke that a school district in Albuquerque, NM was instituting a policy to go after parents who fail to pay for their children's school lunches. That policy? Serving students whose parents are delinquent in their payments a cheese sandwich, fruit, and milk.
Albuquerque is not alone in instituting this policy. School districts in Chula Vista, Calif., Hillsborough County, Fla., and Lynnwood, Wash., have also taken to serving cheese sandwiches. According to an article by Susan Montoya Brown of the Associated Press, " Such policies have become a necessity for schools seeking to keep budgets in the black while ensuring children don't go hungry."
According to the article, "critics argue the cold meals are a form of punishment for children whose parents can't afford to pay" and "some Albuquerque parents have tearfully pleaded with school board members to stop singling out their children because they're poor, while others have flooded talk radio shows thanking the district for imposing a policy that commands parental responsibility." (Click here for a full text of the article)
Besides the shame factor, there are other consequences to consider. First, while it can be argued that feeding these children cheese sandwiches is better than no food at all, are they getting the same nutrition as their peers? Proper nutrition is essential to development; are these children being put at a disadvantage because their parents are poor? Second, for many of these kids, the meals they receive at school are the only hot meals they receive all day. These meals have become extremely important to the parents as a means for feeding their children, when they cannot afford to do so. And third, it is difficult for kids to overcome shame, especially for being singled out due to their economic status. School is hard enough on kids; is it fair for administrators to subject kids to this kind of humiliation just to help balance the budget?
On the other hand, is a cheese sandwich really all that bad? I would most likely eat a grilled cheese sandwich every day if I could. Many children, and adults, eat a sandwich of some sort for lunch, along with a fruit and a drink. How is this lunch different than a standard lunch consumed by most Americans? Also, the kids are still being provided with a meal. The districts are not letting these children go hungry. Is it fair to criticize the policy when the district is still doing what they can to feed the students, at their expense, while still trying to make up for a deficit created by parents' failure to pay?
Is this policy fair or too harsh? Is is fiscally responsible or does it punish children for their parents' mistakes? Given the state of the country's economy, will more districts around the country create similar policies? What do you think?
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