Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Friday, April 14, 2017

Federal Pressure Could Spur More 'Lunch Shaming' Bans

New Mexico is the first state to ban the practice. Now the rest have till the end of the school year to adopt an official policy for what happens when parents miss meal payments.

Cara Valente, a state legislative analyst in New Mexico, knows what it's like to have her children punished because she missed a school lunch payment. At times, she and her husband had needed to wait until their next paychecks to cover the bill, even if that meant being a couple weeks late.

But that tardiness had consequences: Per school policy, her children couldn’t have the more expensive and nutritious meal.

“My kids were mad at us for not having paid the bill and causing them embarrassment,” Valente says. “I was angry because my kids were not doing as well in school as they could have been because they were hungry.”

More

4 comments:

lmclain said...

She made the mistake so many people do --- she had kids she couldn't afford yet.
Now, it's YOUR fault.
She thinks you need to give more money from YOUR paycheck to take care of HER kids.
I have my own problems. I'm tired of solving the problems of people too stupid to manage their life.
TWO incomes and they couldn't pay $25???
You KNOW she voted democrat.
Keep cheering.

Anonymous said...

pack a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, and a small bag of chips - put it in a white bag or brown bag - what is so damn hard about that? Do like the rest of us did.

Anonymous said...

Ever hear of packing their lunches? WTH.

Anonymous said...

Some parents are just plain lame. I understand about living from paycheck to paycheck, but set some priorities...your kid's lunch over your cigarettes for example. It's not like they don't know they have to pay for lunches. Budget for them, for pete's sake! Bet mom and dad had something to eat for lunch everyday.