Free Food: A friend or a foe?

11:50 AM... we're sitting in class, watching the clock above our teacher. The bell is going to ring for lunch in 3... 2... anddd 1. Not even waiting for our teacher to dismiss us, we rush to the doors and speed to the lunch line. Doors are banging and the cacophony of chattering students fill up the school's interior. No one stops to remember the pin number they have to give to the lunch lady, or if they have lunch money in their backpack. After all, that's a thing of the past- or as we might know it better, before the pandemic. Free meals in schools all across the country have brought devastating consequences and have affected the way students and even their parents handle these opportunities and resources. For this reason, the access that younger students have to this option of free meals should be more strictly supervised by staff members at elementary schools specifically, and maybe even reduced.

First and mainly, meals in elementary schools are planned out to balance every portion of a proper meal, so a student buying lunch would be required to buy the entire meal... not just what THEY want. This would normally include a juice/milk, a hot meal, a salad, and veggies/fruits as many students may be familiar with already. This is a major downfall to the effort to bringing no-cost meals to schools because students get the entire lunch, but then just eat what they want to and trash or fiddle around with the rest. On top of that, it is hard to let it pass that the quantity of one lunch at school is way too much for a child to finish (and as mentioned, students are required to get everything provided). If students don't finish their lunches, we can't really consider it all their fault.

Data aside, my mom is a staff member at an IUSD school, and to get a clearer picture of what this wastage of food looks like, I asked her what students do at lunch; I found out that students squirt juice at each other or pour and trash their food if they don't like it or don't want it. Not only that, but because there is no check on students and how many meals they "buy," many times, they will get a second meal and continue playing with their food. Because free food is provided to all children regardless of income, parents also take major advantage of this resource, even if they can provide their child with a homemade lunch. Also, my mom and other staff members have caught students trashing lunch that they've brought from home and getting school lunch. Because parents may not be aware that their child is getting school food and not eating what they were supposed to, this further aggravates the problem. 

In addition to this, it is essential to note two big things. First of all, a lot of the funds being given to schools come from taxpayers' money, which demonstrates the waste of money that happens every day. In a time like the present with a global pandemic going on, free food may seem like a savior for many families, but the total impact that this "program" creates MUST be considered too. We cannot afford this waste in any situation. Ever. According to the USDA, "80 billion lbs. of food is thrown away. 40% of the US food supply is wasted." To add, the average person generates around 3.5 pounds of food waste EVERY WEEK.

Alternatively, if free meals were only provided to low-income families, that would still make more sense because of the personal struggle to provide a lunch for their child. In this circumstance though, when ALL students have the availability and have also been accustomed to home-sent lunches, the value of this resource lessens and is further undermined for what it is worth. The USDA states that $1.5 B is being allotted to schools across the country for this program. But, knowing that food is being wasted, if efforts were made, so much money could be saved. That saved money could go to other programs for education or provide funds to buy better Chromebooks or upgrade school infrastructure. These are just a few of the other ways that we could provide better educational experiences to students.  

So think about it again. "Free food." It really does sound like the one thing that students and families can all benefit from. But can we really just make free food a program? Is the wastage worth it when there are people who are struggling to find their next bite for the day? In the past few years, when resources have gone lower and people have met more hardships than ever, we need to save food and money where we can, and in the light of this, free meals should be monitored in elementary schools so that we can save these resources together.

Author's Note- I know I still have a story to complete and it's coming soon! My next post is going to be a petition that I wanted to start and share because even though it sounds like such a petty thing, the effect that this situation is going to bring in the future won't be good for any of us, and so trying to do something right now is better :)

Here's a link to the post with the link: Free Food Petition