Elementary school encompasses some of the best years in a child’s life because there is so little to worry about — you get fed snacks and lunch, go to recess and see your friends every day.
That is how it is supposed to be, at least. Young children attending school should not have to worry about being able to pay for school lunch and what will happen to them if they do not.
Unfortunately, many children in America are forced to wonder if their parent’s inability to pay for school lunches will impact their time in school and if there will be consequences.
Last May, we saw this phenomena more clearly when a Rhode Island school announced that any child with unpaid lunch debt will not receive a hot meal and instead will be given a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This week, a school in New Jersey announced that children who have accumulated unpaid lunch debt will not be allowed to participate in school activities such as field trips.
No child should be punished or embarrassed by their school because their parents do not have the means to pay for their lunch every day.
To prevent them from school activities or refuse to give out a hot meal ostracizes them from their peers and demonstrates that because they have less money, they are not worthy of the treatment their more well-off peers receive.
Additionally, handing out cold meals such as a sandwich denies the child the necessary nutrients they need to perform well in school. A balanced diet is so important to a student doing the best they can in school because it provides them with the energy they need and keeps them healthy.
Crystal FitzSimons, the director of school programs at the Food Research and Action Center, said, “we know there are links between participating in school nutrition programs and learning, attendance, test scores, and tardiness.” She also points out that “By making sure they’re getting a healthy lunch, we’re really leveling the playing field academically.”
For children living in an underprivileged home, the school cafeteria might be the only place they can get a balanced, healthy meal. To deny them of that is to take away future successes within that school and beyond and can negatively impact their eating habits for the future.
Isolating a child at such an important time in their developmental years will negatively impact them beyond the lunchroom. At this time in a child’s life, all they want to do is fit in. Being punished for their family’s financial situation, ostracized by the schools and potentially bullied by their peers creates a sad child not focused on their educational successes.
There is already such a disparity between who succeeds and who does not given that higher education is largely available to those who are financially secure versus those who are not. The last thing this country needs is another aspect within the education system that is only furthering that disparity for children coming from underprivileged homes.
Fixing the system so that every child has access to a healthy, warm and balanced meal at school should be a top priority for the education system. No child should go hungry at school and everyone deserves an equal shot at success.
