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Is It Wrong To Use Free School Lunches?

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free school lunches

Is It Wrong To Use Free School Lunches?

Melinda writes: How do you feel about free school lunches? I ask this because with our low income we qualify for free lunches and breakfasts at my kids’ school. However, because I run a tight ship and try to be a good steward with the resources the Lord gives us, we actually can pay for our three children to eat the lunch that the school provides. I’m very torn on this issue. I almost feel like my kids eating the free school lunch would be like receiving welfare. On the other hand, free lunches would sure free some extra money that could be used in other areas of our budget. What do you suggest?

 

Tawra: The issue of free school lunches is one of those gray area questions that we’ve never quite been able to resolve.

We were in a similar situation last year where we qualified for reduced rate lunches. We took the reduced rate lunches. We did it because we knew my husband’s job was coming to an end soon and we weren’t sure if it was going to be sooner or later. 🙂 I went ahead and did it and it’s funny because we ended up not using the reduced rate lunches very often. My kids prefer bringing their lunch instead so they saw school lunches as the less desirable alternative. (The school didn’t care if they didn’t like institutional canned spinach 😉

I think whether or not to use the school lunch program is something you are going to need to consider for your own situation. I would say pray about it and if you think God doesn’t want you to do it then don’t. There is nothing wrong with accepting free school lunches if you need them, particularly if you see it as a temporary thing. That’s why they offer that program. Even though you can pay for lunches, you still may have a reasonable need. If they spend their money wisely, most people who use the free lunch program “can” afford it. They just don’t. If you accept the free or reduced lunches so you can free space in the budget for unnecessary luxury items, that is probably not reasonable. If you are considering accepting it so that it’s a little easier to find the money in your budget to fix your car when it breaks down, that is probably reasonable. There is no reason to punish yourself for being smart about how you spend your money.

At our school, we could have made 50% more money and still qualified for the reduced lunches, so we didn’t feel like we were somehow taking advantage of the program.

We have qualified for WIC and programs like that for a long time, but we don’t feel good about taking it at this point in our lives. That’s just for us. It’s not right or wrong but that’s just how we handle it with our situation. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a black and white answer! 🙂

Tawra

Read Answers About Free School Lunches From Some Of Our Readers Here.

Free School Lunches – Readers’ Answers

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Free School Lunches – Readers’ Answers

This is A Reader Response to our post, “Is It Wrong To Use Free School Lunches?“

Dear Readers, A while back, Melinda wrote asking our opinion of accepting free school lunches if you qualify. You can read our initial response here. Since then, we received these reader comments on the same subject and we thought you might find it interesting. Tawra

Hi Tawra,

I just read Melinda’s question regarding reduced school lunches. Having been on both sides of being able to afford and it being a real pinch, AND having worked in the public schools this past year, I would like to offer an additional perspective.

First of all, school lunches are not funded by the Department of Education or local school taxes. They are a program of the USDA to help farmers use the surplus. I don’t know all the specific details, but at least some of the foods are surplus that the government has ALREADY purchased and needs to distribute. That said, the local, state and federal layers of the education system DO look at the numbers of students receiving free and reduced price school lunch when determining where extra money will be spent. That is the only legal way of determining average income of a school/neighborhood or district. So, if a family decides to not sign up, that ultimately does cut the dollars being sent to that school.

Also, for those who decide they will take their reduced or free school lunch some of the time and bring lunch from home most of the time, that is great but be aware that if your school uses a debit account, the juice/milk and/or dessert that children often buy when bringing a bag lunch from home, actually will reduce your debit account more than just buying a whole reduced price lunch. Sounds stupid, but it’s true. At our elementary school, reduced price lunch was 40 cents. Milk plus dessert was, I believe, 65 cents.

I would suggest if you are truly feeling guilty about “taking” the lunch program, then make a donation of cash or food to a local food bank or use the extra cash to help out a friend.

Much of the same goes for the state Children’s Health Insurance. The numbers are used to make estimates of how many children are low income and thus be able to use the figures to appeal to state and federal levels for additional funding. Yes, it all ultimately comes out of our pockets but at least think about making sure some of it gets diverted to your neighborhood. 🙂

          -Christy

 

Hi Tawra,

I would like to reassure Melinda to please use the free meals at school. This is a Federal program, not welfare. I raised 3 children on this program and it is a lifesaver. If enough people do not use the program that do qualify for it ,it could be discontinued, and the people that need it will not have it. Please do not feel bad or guilty about using these programs.

          -Lisa from Gloucester Point, Virginia

Tawra, the federal government uses the number of students enrolled in the free/reduced lunch program to apportion other federal funds to schools for programs.

For example: If you have 2 schools with the same number of students and the same number of children eligible for free lunches, but at school A 50 children enroll and at school B 100 children enroll, then School B is going to get a lot more federal dollars for programs like Head Start than school A. The number of children enrolled in the free lunch program is used as a proxy in the funding formulas for several federal programs.

          -Maria from Washington, DC

In response to the free school lunch question… I am a teacher and we wish more parents would take the free/reduced lunch. First, the school receives a lot of money for each child on the program. Second, there isn’t a chance of the child being embarrassed. As a teacher I don’t even know who the kids are in my class who are on the program.

Lastly, this also helps with your school’s end of the year test scores. In Missouri, we have the MAP. The school not only receives a score, but there are sub categories in the schools. One is free/reduced lunch. Not to sound cruel, but the more kids who score better on the test on the free/reduced lunch program the better the score is for that sub category. If one category fails the entire school is considered a failed school.

          -Lisa from Gloucester Point, Virginia

 

What is an Appropriate Food Budget?

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Elise from Kelowna, British Columbia writes:

Hi Tawra and Jill,

My husband and I are saving hard for a mortgage down-payment and we are trying to stick to a budget, but I don’t know what is an appropriate amount of money to allot for food per month. I try to get everything on sale and in bulk, as well as utilizing free sources of fruit and vegetables. (Here in the Okanagan they are all over!) Could you give me some advice about this? It is just the two of us — we have no children yet.

Thank you for the help, and also thank you for this inspiring website. I always read your articles and they boost my resolve to be as frugal as I can while still living life richly.

Thanks again, Elise

 

Hi Elise! Well, first let me tell you that we’re jealous that we don’t live in the Okanagan. From what we’ve seen of it, it’s beautiful country up there!

The answer to your question depends on a lot of factors. I can’t really give you a dollar amount because the price of food varies from state to state and from the US to Canada. When Mike and I were living alone we spent $125 a month on groceries (US dollars). My best advice is each day or week think about where you can cut a little more from your bill. No matter how much you cut, there is only so far you can go. Eventually you will get to an average point and the will be a steady bill for you. Then focus on how you can save in other areas.

Generally, if you cut out the convenience foods and go to restaurants as little as possible you will be well on the way. Since you are saving extra hard right now, I would cut out all of the restaurant trips except maybe on your anniversary and try for no expensive convenience foods. Then, when you have saved what you want to save, ease up on those things a little if you like. Also, keep in mind that it may be worth it at times to use convenience foods if you have an opportunity to make more money with the time you save. For example, if you and your husband can work some overtime this week and it pays well, but it eliminates the time you have to prepare meals for the week, it might be worth buying some TV dinners. Still, whenever possible, I’d prepare some freezer meals ahead of time when things are slow to make up for the time you may not have later.

It sounds like you are well on your way to getting it as low as you can. I hope you get your down payment quickly!

      -Tawra

 

photo by: Masahiro

Frugal Ethics – When Frugal Becomes Just Plain Cheap

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Frugal Ethics - When Frugal Becomes Just Plain Cheap

Frugal Ethics – When Frugal Becomes Just Plain Cheap

There are times when it’s tempting to lie, steal or break one of the other 10 Commandments to get a good deal but, in living frugally, we all need to stick to being honest. This is not always easy to do, but I want to give some examples that may help you stay honest. Here are some common tactics that some people use that are unethical and sometimes illegal: [Read more…] about Frugal Ethics – When Frugal Becomes Just Plain Cheap