Surely it isn’t just about poor children, all children need good nourishment!
Many people who are wealthy work hard for long hours so have little time to feed their kids. If all kids are treated the same they will all get nourished without the cost of keeping up to date records of who is entitled to free school meals ( which costs more than you think).
It isn’t just about money, it will help prevent children from being embarrassed . because their family are poor & don’t forget wealthy kids could stuff their faces with Macdonalds rather than decent dinners.
Wealthy kids tend to move on to better jobs & maybe become doctors, who can eventually save the lives of some in their own generation with major health problems.
Life isn’t equal for all , if we treat rich & poor people differently. I have never had any children , but still contributed to things like education & health care for all. To me every child deserves the same , no matter what the parents financial standing is!
Good analysis Twink.
Yes, I can see your point but we don’t have infinite resources.
So I think what little we do have should be targeted where it’s needed most
And that those who can afford to feed their own children should do that.
Isn’t that what poor families get told by some judgemental people in the school holidays when there are no free school meals?
As to embarrassment, isn’t it more important to tackle that by changing attitudes and tackling bullying?
We pay our taxes and don’t have any control over what our money is used for
But I’d object to forking out for free meals for children of wealthy families who don’t need a freebie
It’s a terrible inditement if our class and education system when you say:
“Wealthy kids tend to move on to better jobs & maybe become doctors, who can eventually save the lives of some in their own generation with major health problems”
Only wealthy kids? I’d like a country where all kids with ability, wealthy or not, tended to do that!
That would really ensure life being equal for all, far more than doling out free meals to rich kids
And I doubt my having to pay for a free meal for the wealthy ones would make them more likely to become doctors
But using that money instead on education and other projects to help children from deprived backgrounds just might help some of them be come doctors……
Sorry can’t agree with this . If you are wealthy pay for the child’s school dinner or make arrangements for them to be fed . The wealthy are not the only ones who work long hours .
We only have to look at GPs who earn so much they don’t have to work a full week ( at least in the U.K. ) so have plenty of time and money to ensure their children are well fed .
Children become doctors because they are clever and hardworking not because they have wealthy parents or eat healthily .If that were true children who come from poor circumstances would never become doctors or professional anything .If anything the evidence is to the contrary there are any amount of wealthy people whose children never to amount to anything and who owe their position in life to their parents wealth .
I have a friend a veterinary surgeon who came from a really poor family in Central America.
He was sent overseas to study by a government scholarship which meant he had to study in another language .
The man is just super intelligent .
And there others like him.
One has to wonder which group of people pushed for and eventually voted to have this policy put into place.
The “riff raff” who get their free meals anyway won’t care. The really wealthy won’t care. So it’ll be the middle group Ronnie Barker type who, by curious coincidence may well benefit the most by an increase in disposable income of a few hundred $'s pa. Funny how appeasing one’s conscience by fighting for the “common good” works out at times eh? 
It is difficult to generalize on the word wealthy, but let me say that the very wealthy tend to send their children to boarding schools or private schools where their food will be provided by the money their parents pay for their education.
The poor children are already provided for if their parents are on benefits & many places are now providing lunch for those on school holiday .
The wealthy I was referring to are those who try to raise their standard of living to offer their children more, by both parents working. They may have a bigger house , but that costs more to heat than a small one & council tax is considerably higher. They may need 2 cars to get both parents to work , so more petrol. They may need somebody home ,if their work schedules differ, to make sure the children get home safe. They don’t have nannies, so I wonder why so many people resent their children getting a nourishing meal for free, like the many other children whose parents are not always providing nourishment with their benefits. I hasten to add that many poor parents do provide food, but quite a lot feel that a trip to the pub is ok whilst the country provides meals for their kids
If we continue with the attitude that only poor people should benefit aren’t we saying that wealthy children who may go without food should not be helped, yet the taxes their parents pay can be used to feed the children of poor people. Why should parents, who try to give their kids a better life, have to provide for others’ children who are unable to.
Believe me , if we could find a better way of preventing false benefits claims, the money we could save would feed all children an adequate lunch.
I would also like to mention that many bright kids , from poor families, would find it too expensive to go through the procedure of becoming a doctor. ,It takes a further 8-10 years following graduation. That puts them into their 30’s before the financial benefits become apparent… and a lot of hard work!
They take a student loan as do most students .
This explains more behind the plans of the free school meals in California
“…This is so historic. It’s beyond life-changing,” said Erin Primer, director of food services for the San Luis Coastal Unified School District on California’s central coast.…”
California became the first state to adopt a universal program late last month, and Maine followed shortly after with a similar plan.
“…We’ve completely leveled the playing field when it comes to school food,” Primer said. The extra funding will also allow her to offer tastier, better quality food such as fresh bread, produce and cheese from local producers…" she said
Wonder if we’ll end up with universal free lunches in the UK?
When I was a primary school student we all got the same meal, and the same colour ticket.
The said ticket was debited from parents account or not at the end of each school term.
Could be free for some, half price for others and full price etc… with many different prices in between depending on parents income.
To us kids, we had no idea or even knowledge of free meals concept as that was never discussed ( and probably taboo).
It is still like that in many schools and I think that is the best system really for 2 reasons.
- All kids get nice and healthy food made out of fresh veggies and fruits.
- Rich families who can afford to feed their kids do not get free meals.
Why give free meals to families who can afford to feed their kids while this money could be used elsewhere for people who really need it?
Universal free lunch is not the way to go as that would be a waste of much needed resources in times of inflation.
But making sure before each school term starts that 100% of kids meals are funded by families and or social aids ahead of the term, without children being stigmatised or even ever aware that they were the recipient of free meals measures, would be the way to go imo.
What is related in this article is very sad and a total disgrace.