We Need Universal Free Lunches In Our Schools

01Oct
by Leticia Chavez-Garcia

I am so tired of hearing about kids being denied a school lunch because of unpaid and overdue lunch bills.  

Kids didn’t ask for any of this! They weren’t asked if they wanted to attend school, they are told they must. Kids don’t choose to be hungry, it’s a reality for many as America continues to dismiss the issue of extreme poverty and food insecurity for families across the nation.

Not one more kid should go through this bullshit! In the most recent story of denied lunch, a boy in Ohio has his tray taken away on his birthday over a $9.00 unpaid lunch tab. I’m sorry, are the schools in Ohio so hard up for cash that $9.00 will make or break the district? So much so that a child has to go hungry and be humiliated on his birthday? 

This is outrageous. It has to stop. Why do these kids even have to buy lunch? They are forced to attend school, they should be given a lunch. Why are we even having a conversation about public schools not providing free lunches in 2019? Especially for children who live in areas in the country where food insecurity is an established epidemic? 

We as a country need to stop the lunch shaming and provide breakfast and lunch to all students regardless of their financial status. The time is now to do this. In the next few days, I will be working on creating a petition (national) demanding an end to this practice of paying for lunch and instead have universal free school lunch programs.  

Not one more student should be lunch shamed in America!

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Leticia Chavez-Garcia

Leticia Chavez-Garcia is a Mother, Grandmother, former Middle School Teacher, former Member of a School Board of Education and an Education Advocate for hundreds of parents and students in the Inland Empire. Having become a mother at 15, Leticia knows what it’s like to be a single mother trying to navigate the education system. Leticia received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and Public Administration from California Baptist University and a Masters’ Degree in Education Technology from Cal State Fullerton in her 30’s. Leticia has used her knowledge and experience to help hundreds of families as an Education Advocate in the Inland Empire and currently works as an Education Specialist.

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