Topic > School lunches should be free by law - 1331

Students learn and do their best when they are hungry and uncomfortable! Makes perfect sense, right? If you're like most Americans, this may be one of the most ridiculous statements you've ever heard. I know I've never done anything better hungry. Many students sit in school during lunch time because they don't have food to eat because they don't have the money to afford it, or they can't bring food from home for various reasons. This is why many schools offer free and reduced lunch programs. But not everyone can apply for these programs; even middle class families in today's economy sometimes can't give cash to their children every day. Times are tough and every family is different. These are good programs, but they're not good enough. One child missing a meal and going hungry is one too many in my book. That's why I think there should be at least a state law in North Carolina, if not a federal law, that provides free lunch in all public schools for all students, regardless of income. This way it's simple, convenient and easy, and no one will be targeted or go hungry if they don't bring their own lunch. Besides student needs, my main reason, free lunch, contrary to popular belief, is not free. It's paid. Tax dollars pay for public education and that includes lunch, so why should two dollars be added for school lunch? Furthermore, offering free meals to children at school will reduce administrative costs. (Resnikoff, 2014). You won't need three or four extra computers in each line, like in most schools, and you won't need cashiers for these lines either. These computers and other saved resources can be directed to other areas of the school. In October 2013, a Dallas school district began pro...... middle of paper ......ols. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.nokidhungry.org/pdfs/NKH_TeachersReport_2013.pdf(2010). Unhealthy school lunches that fall short. Artinstitue.edu, Retrieved from http://insite.artinstitutes.edu/unhealthy-school-lunches-not-making-the-grade-23810.aspxH.r.4870 - Healthy School Lunches Act of 2010. (2010, 03 17 ). Retrieved from http://www.opencongress.org/bill/hr4870-111/showMukhurjee, S. (2012, 12 19). American teens who experience hunger are at greater risk for mental health problems. Retrieved from http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/12/19/1358221/american-adolescents-hunger-mental-health/(2012). Mental disorders more common among food insecure adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Nslp fact sheet. (2013, 09). Retrieved from http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/NSLPFactSheet.pdf