There SHOULD Be Such A Thing As a Free (School) Lunch
Yesterday I had the privilege of hearing from three of the forty women who participated in Witnesses to Hunger, at a briefing sponsored by Witnesses and Children's Health Watch. The forty women were given cameras and asked to document their lives as they and their children face hunger. The women's stories were relatable and genuine, and their frustration palpable. The three women work long hours to ensure their children's health, many having to give up college to make time for more hours, and yet they repeatedly come up short on money for food, and are often turned away from social services for making too much. As they told their stories, members of Congress (including Rep. McGovern, and Rep. Fattah), Congressional staff and advocates were visibly moved. Senator Casey even made a video praising the project. Check out their work here: witnessestohunger.org
One of the women, describing the humiliation and injustice her daughter faces when she cannot afford the reduced-price school lunch their family qualifies for, asked why lunch couldn't be provided for every child? It's a good question. Children facing hunger are more likely to be hospitalized, have poor health, experience developmental risk and perform less well in school. School lunch programs often don't reach everyone in need as stigma and complex applications stand in the of way students receiving meals.
In Philadelphia, schools in poor communities offer Universal Feeding, allowing students to receive free lunch and breakfast without filling out any forms. This process lessens the stigma associated with getting free meals, and saves both the district money and the families trouble by eliminating the bureaucracy associated with filling out eligibility forms.
But the USDA is trying to cancel this program, calling it "unfair" and saying that some students who would not normally qualify for free meals are getting them (which many would argue is a good thing...). The district is protesting, saying rolling back Universal Feeding will leave many students hungry, as the applications create an insurmountable obstacle for some families.
This debate comes right before Congress gets ready to work on reauthorizing all Child Nutrition programs, including school breakfast and lunches, as well as afterschool and summer feeding programs. Adding to the tension are declining budgets across the country, leading some schools to adopt the policy of taking away students' meals and instead giving them cheese sandwiches, if the students' families owe the nutrition program money.
Want to join the movement against child hunger? Get your congregation to sign on to the Child Nutrition Statement of Principles or send your Senator a letter calling for an expansion of the Afterschool Supper program to more states. President Obama pledged to end child hunger by 2015, and yesterday, Representative McGovern explained that while we have the resources to do this, "we don't have the political will." Let's change that!