Summer Hunger

 

 

 

"Of the five billion meals provided to 31 million students during the past school year, 59 percent were free of charge, 9 percent were reduced price, and the other 33 percent were paid"

First, let me apologize in advance. This one might step on a few toes. Once again this summer, we are seeing PSAs (Public Service Announcements) to tug at our heartstrings to make sure all kids in the area have a lunch. Are they orphans you ask? No, the great provider of all things except a quality education (the public school system) is not in session. So what? No free lunches for the students this summer. 

Since during the school year, when 6 out of 10 kids get their daily meals for free, who in the world is going to take care of them in the summer? Somehow, as we watched like boiling frogs, "Big Government" has taken control of the care and feeding of our kids. The needle has been stuck in the arm. Dependency is established. Works very good until (gasp), school is out for the summer.

First a small bit of history. Many of the older folks might relate to this. In the olden days, when my wife and I went to school, most kids brought in checks every other week for $3. That $3 would buy you 10 lunches in the school cafeteria. If some kids came from very large families, or if they just did not care for school cafeteria food (imagine that!), they could brown bag it. Once in a while, someone was out of "punches" on their lunch ticket or maybe forget their brown bag at home. The other kids would usually share their lunch with them.

The above is fact - now I will go into conjecture. My folks would have given up quite a bit - maybe everything, before they would see my sister or myself go hungry. My wife's parents were the same way. Our kids never had a free lunch in school. They never had to miss lunch unless they wanted to. Like our parents, I would have given up quite a bit, before I allowed my kids to go hungry. In fact, I would have sold the house, if need be.

On the news as of late, we keep hearing about the healing economy. Really? Almost 50 million people are on food stamps (that is the adult version of "free and reduced lunches") and 6 out of 10 kids are getting free lunches. Does this look like a vibrant economy to anyone who is paying attention? 

Just for the record, I don't want to see one kid go hungry, not even for a meal. By the same token, making them "government addicts" does not seem to be the right solution. We have come a long, long way since the "greatest generation". We have come a long, long way in a very short period of time. Even though we have come a long way, we are traveling quickly in the wrong direction.