Utah Lawmakers Call Tossing School Lunches An 'Abuse Of Power'

[LWolf]

13. He's right.

Meanwhile, everyone at my public school is eating. Everyone. When someone has an outstanding account, we call parents and pressure them to fill out the paperwork for free lunch, which most of our student population is eligible for, but some decline "government charity." We also call in our FAN representative to meet with the family to see what needs they have that she can help with. We don't stop feeding them; we just push up the family support. She also keeps me well supplied with granola bars, pretzels, and other non-perishable snacks in my classroom that I can make available to anyone at any time; that way, I can keep an eye out for someone who skipped lunch (parents sometimes tell them to) or just seems hungry and toss out some bags of snacks randomly; some kids who don't "need" them get fed too, but nobody here seems to care about that. Since I allow non-sugary snacks in my room as long as they are handled cleanly, neatly, and without distraction, kids are always eating in my room. If I throw out a few bags, they will all pull out their snacks and share, so nobody is singled out as "needing" food. Other than the constant "need" the growing adolescent has to eat, of course.