One thing to keep in mind is that in most areas school lunches are going to be cheap- perhaps cheaper than many families can make their own. Plus it is certainly very convenient to not have to pack lunches. I know after I started middle school I was expected to make my own lunches. I was alway jealous of the kids that had parents that packed their lunches.
I could get a full lunch with milk for $1.10 in highschool- It is now $2.00-2.25. I was at a school where a lot of kids got a subsidized lunch ($.25) or free lunches. Nowadays schools are still buying at bulk, buying through the gov't (subsidized), and they are reimbursed/subsidized through lunch programs/grants, etc., so it IS going to be harder for families with economic challenges to make a lunch that costs less. Plus, it is hard to send hot lunches with a child-- it can be expensive to buy reusable stuff (kids lose stuff, etc.)
I remember a part in episode 3, the lunch director (rhonda?) mentioens that the lunch w/o 2 breads is non-reimbursable because it didn't meet the federal guideline. So even though it was a lovely 9 veggie pasta dish, since it didn't have the required 2 breads or whatever, they would have to pay for the full cost of that lunch meal.
I think a lot more parents are going to be looking into the lunches and asking questions and putting pressure where it needs to be. He might be making some blunders, but overall just getting started on this issue and bringing light to it is going to create good change.
Jessica
I could get a full lunch with milk for $1.10 in highschool- It is now $2.00-2.25. I was at a school where a lot of kids got a subsidized lunch ($.25) or free lunches. Nowadays schools are still buying at bulk, buying through the gov't (subsidized), and they are reimbursed/subsidized through lunch programs/grants, etc., so it IS going to be harder for families with economic challenges to make a lunch that costs less. Plus, it is hard to send hot lunches with a child-- it can be expensive to buy reusable stuff (kids lose stuff, etc.)
I remember a part in episode 3, the lunch director (rhonda?) mentioens that the lunch w/o 2 breads is non-reimbursable because it didn't meet the federal guideline. So even though it was a lovely 9 veggie pasta dish, since it didn't have the required 2 breads or whatever, they would have to pay for the full cost of that lunch meal.
I think a lot more parents are going to be looking into the lunches and asking questions and putting pressure where it needs to be. He might be making some blunders, but overall just getting started on this issue and bringing light to it is going to create good change.
Jessica
Also, am I the only one who found the show slightly patronizing? Perpetuated stereotypes of what society thinks of West Virginians/Appalachians - unhealthy, uneducated, skeptical of outside "foreigners"...
It's sad because I actually know a couple of people who would need a coffin that size if they were to die now.
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