No Kid Hungry Advocates to Expand Access to No-Cost School Meals in Texas
Some Texas school districts have already adopted a "free for all" approach to meals served during school hours. And that's beautiful.
But it also begs the question: why isn't this the standard across our state?
Growing up in Texas, I was lucky. My parents could always afford to give me money for lunch. Did I always remember to bring it with me? Absolutely not. I probably should have been on ADHD meds.
But I never racked up enough debt to incur a "shame sandwich," the universal indicator that your family was amongst The Poors and that you should be bullied thusly.
Sure, many kids were on free lunch programs, but that required parents to be present enough to fill it out, and humble enough to accept the help.
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According to the Education Data Initiative, over 30 million students can't afford their school meals, and the average debt is over $180 per year, per child.
Shockingly, 96% of schools have seen an increase in children who can't afford their meals. 89% of homes with children are considered "food insecure."
Sadly, Texas had the most food-insecure children at 1,658,680. That's many hungry mouths.
So why are school lunches not part of "the cost of doing business" for these schools? Between federal and local funds, it seems like there should be plenty of money to make it free, IF lawmakers made it a priority.
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Remember, these are children who cannot control the flow of funds in their homes. Every Texas child can and should be fed, for free, regardless of income.
Hungry children have lower test scores and behave worse in class. This one simple change would solve many problems in our Texas schools.
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