Breakfast comes to the classroom
by John Martin, CNN
(CNN) - Less than half of the children in America who are eligible for a free or reduced breakfast take advantage of the USDA-provided meal. A program called "Breakfast in the Classroom" is trying to get more lower-income students to eat breakfast. The program, managed by a group of organizations known collectively as the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, brings food to the students in class after the morning bell. That way, students don't come to school early just to eat, and they aren't rushing to get to class, skipping breakfast on the way. The program was launched in five school districts around the country and expanding to include ten more this school year.
Research suggests that there are educational benefits to eating breakfast at school, even over students who eat the meal at home. These include better attendance, behavior and higher standardized test scores.
Knox County Schools in Tennessee, which opened its doors to students on August 14, is a newcomer to the in-classroom meal program .
Jon Dickl, the director of school nutrition for Knox County, told CNN that there are several advantages to eating breakfast in class. "The students are in their seats ready to learn as soon as the bell rings," Dickl said. "It reduces tardiness and discipline issues and provides an opportunity for teachers to develop relationships," he continued.
In Knox County, as in many other districts using the pilot program, all the students are served breakfast at no cost to the student, regardless of their family's income. Dickl said doing that increases the percentage of students who eat breakfast overall, and leads to social benefits. "Relationships are developed when people have food together," Dickl said.
High school students tell Dickl that instead of gravitating toward their friends as they would do in a cafeteria setting, the students are having conversations with students from their classes who they wouldn't talk to otherwise. "It's expanded their social network," Dickl said.
The district's teachers say they also benefit from eating with their students, by building relationships and incorporating lessons into the morning meal, according to Dickl. One Knox County high school practices ACT vocabulary words.
Dickl says Knox County is phasing in the program and expects to reach 11,000 students in 22 of its schools by mid-October. The district is serving breakfast at all grade levels, from elementary through high school.
A hot breakfast is always an option in Knox County. On the day CNN interviewed Dickl, whole grain sausage biscuit with a fruit cup was being served. On another day that week, Knox County offered students hot blueberry waffles with reduced-sugar syrup. Bagged cereals, apples, bananas, fruit juices and fat-free flavored milk or 1% milk are also delivered to classrooms daily.
Dickl says that most parents are in favor of the program, too. The only negative comments he's heard are from parents who are concerned that providing free breakfasts uses local tax money allocated for education. Dickl says that these parents are mistaken. Most school nutritional services departments in U.S., he says, are self sufficient. They rely on federal USDA money, state funds, and money that students spend on lunch. "We take no money locally and have to be financially sustainable," Dickl says.
Breakfast in the Classroom is run by Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, which is funded by grants from the Walmart Foundation. The members of the partnership include the Food Research and Action Center, the National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation, the National Education Association Health Information Network (NEA HIN), and the School Nutrition Foundation. NEA HIN provides training workshops for teachers who are incorporating the program into their classrooms.
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I am a 6th grade teacher and we serve breakfast in the classroom through this program. The biggest problem is that much is of the food is full of fat or sugar. The juice containers have zero nutrition in them and yet they dare to post a heart on them. There is french toast and also egg sandwiches and you can see the grease. Some of the more discriminating among them recoil from the breakfast. The only healthy cereal served is Total and few will eat it.Unless it's a sugary cereal they won't touch it. The obese students want seconds and I can't say a word to them.
This is a general response to this subject. If people can't afford to feed them, then why breed them? Welfare should be a temporary bridge for a limited time. Not a life long lifestyle at the expense of hard working taxpayers. Regardless of a person's religious or macho beliefs, these do not justify having children who in turn have little to no future for themselves or society.
There seems to be a common thread in much of this logic. It is that these children do not get a healty meal at home. We, the tax payers of this country save them from that by now feeding them twice a day and giving their parents EBT / welfare monies so they can also feed them at home. Why do we need to feed them that much and also pay the parents to feed them as well? Stay with me for a moment on this, So we let them use these welfare monies that we give them to buy poisonous food for the kids and then we must protect them from that poisonous food buy saying they can't eat that stuff. Lets really save these kids buy giving them higher welfare monies so they can buy more food and also provide them with a 3rd government provided healthy dinner as well. I mean what they eat at home is not goofd for them any way. kumbayah my lord kumbayah, damn fools.
Thats really some ignorance that you are spewing. We should want the future leaders of the world to be well fed. It doesnt matter how they get it just make sure that no child is hungry. Your argument is that we should feed them less?
No, the argument is that the general public should not be on the hook for everyone else's children and their well-being. We agree, as taxpayers, to help pay for public education as a societal betterment. Most do not agree that feeding these children, whether they need it or not, should be paid for by the taxpayers.
When I was in elementary school, my parents had to pay a monthly or yearly fee for lunch tickets which we redeemed each day at lunch time for certain food choices. 1 main meal, 1 beverage, 1 side-dish.
I have friends who have children (as I am not a parent myself) who put money into an electronic bank for their child, the child then uses a pin code, which allows them to buy meals during school. They have the OPTION of buying breakfast AND lunch. This money is still put in by parents and NOT taxpayers.
It is the responsibility of the parents to feed their children. If they are getting assistance, that is fine and that assistance can go into those children's accounts. But the general population should not be feeding every child.
Reblogged this on disfrutando la vida and commented:
Last article for today!
school starts way too early. i would always trade 15 more minutes of sleep instead of breakfast. i was always tired in the morning when i was a kid. i assume they start so early because they have to use the same buses for elementary, middle and high schools. so depending on what school you go to it may be 7 8 or 9 am. 9 am isnt bad but 7 sucks.
The schools used the same buses for the elementary schools and the upper grades even back in the 60's. Middle school and h.s. didn't start until 8 am and elementary school started at 8:45 am. Elementary schools in my area didn't need as many buses for the elementary schools as they did for the upper grades, due to so many elementary schools were within walking distance of many of the students.
My niece gets a free breakfast every morning, as well as lunch for free. She eats a good dinner at home in the evening. My own kids also gets those same things. In our case it's because school starts so early in the morning, that typically everyone is running out the door to their different jobs and to have a good breakfast would require an adult to be up at 5 or so in the morning! School hours are getting earlier and parents can't always expect to be able to feed their kids good meals. Now all of us work, and we can provide good food. I think this is a neat program. Much better then what I had in school. If you ran late, either grab an apple from the house and eat it on the way to school or get a candy bar out of the machine to hold you over for several hours until lunch.
"parent can always expect to feed their kids good meals"
I'm pretty sure that is exactly what you are supposed to do....If it is not a parent's job, then whose is it? A bowl of cheerios and fruit takes ten minutes....
People CHOSE to have children. It's not a requirement. Therefore, it's your JOB to feed your kids before school.
The program is all well and fine, but it only reinforces bad parents to be bad, many of these families already receive aid to feed their children. The schools should start dressing, bathing, and brushing the kids teeth, these are all health concerns too! As a pediatric nurse the parents need to be educated, rather than the schools just taking over what a parent should already be doing. If a parent is neglecting to feed the child, perhaps social services should intervene because it is likely a sign that other forms of abuse are occurring.
Amen
This is about the one article that actually makes sense. I'm a teacher, and I love that the students are being fed when their parent's do not feed them. Don't get me wrong...but ultimately it IS the parent's responsibility. I lose about 15 minutes of instructional time because of breakfast...its one of those things...but I can say this...a fed child is more receptive to learning than a hungry child.
I agree with you and have no problem with the program. My problem (and I suspect the ultimate agreement on this is true) is how that program is paid for. It should be an optional payment by parents and not a taxpayer paid program.
More free stuff. Great. We're feeding kids in Egypt and Libya too, is there anything we can't spend money on? Wonder why our debt is through the roof?
We aren't in debt because poor kids are getting free meals. We're in debt because of two wars waged on borrowed money and unregulated banks and Wall Street investment firms. School breakfast and lunch programs are a teeny little drop in the huge bucket.
My wife has been a high school teacher for 7 years, and hungry students are always an issue. My wife requires all her students, regardless of income, to fill out the SNAP breakfast & lunch forms as an assignment so that hopefully none of her students go hungry. We also stock her cabinet with low fat high protein bars for kids who come to class and are hungry. No self respecting teenager, or child of any age, is going to go in front of their peers and ask for food unless they are truly hungry! We have the resources in this country to make sure no one goes hungry. Yes we need to help people make better choices and not have more children than they can afford to support, but in the mean time we shouldn't be punishing the children because of the poor choices their parents may have made.
Why aren't there more headlined stories about people like your wife? Not sensational enough to make the news I guess. But I think she's sensational, and I know that the world is not so lost that a lot of people wouldn't agree with me, regardless of the dark nature of the average news story.
If you have children, you feed them. If you don't feed them, use the money for breakfasted to raise teacher pay and cut out food stamps. I will not teach with all that has been given to educators in America. No wonder no one wants to teach, that is why our country is behind other countries in the world. You can't take over the parent's role.
Many families struggle but don't qualify for SNAP (food stamps), making enough money to cover rent and utilities, etc. Moreover, SNAP is distributed based on several things, so it's not like recipients get a whole whopping 1,000/month to spend on food. Some get enough assistance to last them a week. Feed these babies and omit the politics for a change.
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CHILDREN ARE HUNGRY. Let me say this again. CHILDREN ARE HUNGRY. We have the means to give them something to eat. Do it. As a teacher in a district that has this program, the benefits far outweigh the costs but that's not the point. Whether their parents are making dimes stretch into dollars and just need a little help to make ends meet or they are selling their food stamps for drugs, CHILDREN ARE HUNGRY. How can anyone possibly have the heart to tell an 8 year old that they don't get to eat today? There are ways to address the financial issues discussed in this forum, but withholding food from little kids is inhumane.
I AGREE! I am gainfully employed and can afford to pay for breakfast, and lunch for my son who is enrolled at a DC Public Charter School. However, leaving my home at 6am to get my son to before care at the school and arrive at my office at 7:30am sometimes does not allow me time to give him breakfast. Some mornings I stop at McD's and order him something, and sometimes I will pack him something quick at home to take so he can eat when he arrives at school. Thats me, everyone can't.
Since school started (this is his first year at this school) I asked if he ate breakfast in the cafeteria, he would say NO, but that they have breakfast in the class. I was like WHOA, that's nice that the teachers spend their money to buy bagels and things for them :-). After reading this article I assume they must be part of the program, which is great!
It has always been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so feed them breakfast. If it came out of my tax dollars I wouldnt care they need it. Our taxs dollars could go for a lot worse things than food, we are currently using it to pay for guns to kill people.
@Serious Teacher – Offering this program is ABSOLUTELY the right choice. "You can't teach a hungry child" – is my first thought regarding this topic. The lack of compassion and common sense by some individuals is mind-boggling.
How can anyone possibly have the heart to tell an 8 year old that they don't get to eat today? There are ways to address the financial issues discussed in this forum, but withholding food from little kids is inhumane.
Tell that to the parents who aren't feeding their own kids.
That's why we step in. Do you let the child who runs out into the street get hit by a car because mom couldn't be bothered to pay attention or do you hit the brakes and direct him to safety? We have a moral responsiblity to one another and an obligation to children. I sometimes come home from school in tears because of what some parents do (or won't do) to their children, but I can provide safety, security, love, and support in my classroom along with my mathematics lessons. I set high standards and expect students to meet them regardless of their home situation. But it is foolish to think that kids can overcome challeges thrown in their way by adults all on their own. It doesn't matter whose fault it is, no food is no food. I will always support feeding children.
If children are hungry then go kick some parent butt. It's the parents' job to feed the kids; need to stop turning this country into a nanny state.
LOVE this post!!! it is so very true ..
Serious Teacher
CHILDREN ARE HUNGRY. Let me say this again. CHILDREN ARE HUNGRY. We have the means to give them something to eat. Do it. As a teacher in a district that has this program, the benefits far outweigh the costs but that's not the point. Whether their parents are making dimes stretch into dollars and just need a little help to make ends meet or they are selling their food stamps for drugs, CHILDREN ARE HUNGRY. How can anyone possibly have the heart to tell an 8 year old that they don't get to eat today? There are ways to address the financial issues discussed in this forum, but withholding food from little kids is inhumane.
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Pitiful that everyone thinks this is such a wonderful thing
Yes, tens of billions spent on food stamps, and people can't feed their kids breakfast?
Freaks
We have this program for the elementary schools in our district. They provide breakfast free for all kids there is nothing to enroll in. I still feed my children breakfast beforehand just in case they dont like whats being served but I dont see it as an issue. If they are still hungry they can get a little extra.
I'm not opposed to helping out malnourished kids with something to eat at school. But I do have questions. Firstm, the kids that qualify for free abnd reduced price breakfast most likely belong to families getting othert food aid. Where's that money going? Second, having them eat in the cafeteria before class starts would be preferential to eating in classroom. The smell and mess is dispruptive. Lastly, I don't eat a hot breakfasty every day. Ididn't when I was a kid, and my kids don't either. How about a just Granola bar and a bannana, or an apple?
They could eat that while the teacher takes attendance of makes other announcements.
The coddling of the poor and removing their repsonsibilities just encourages continued lack of responsibility. We feed their kids for free. If they can't get the kids to come early for tyheir free breakfast, we use class time to provide the free breakfast. What about the kids who don'ty get free breakfast or have responsible parents? They sit there and watch the "poor" kids eat?
Please read my posting below. I'm uncertain how all of these schools run, but my child's school only offers one time for breakfast: in the classroom. And it is not free. It does not disrupt the teacher's schedule, as she is able to go over other things with the students as they eat. The food is generally the type that won't make much mess, and the children are responsible for cleaning up after themselves. My son's teacher loves the program, as do I, and all of the other parents I have spoken with.
You have a very, very ignorant perception of poverty. Hope you're happy with being a part of the problem, rather than the solution. Signed - a social worker.
Thank you for your comment. You said exactly what I wanted to say. I bet he would change his tune, if he was a member of family in need. Not everyone abuses welfare assistance. There are people who are truly in need and only use it as long as necessary. It is disgusting to read some of the comments on this page.
Actually, WWRRD, I'm not too sure where you get your stats from, but my 2 schoolage children qualify for reduced lunch, and I DO NOT qualify for any other forms of assistance. Not food stamps, medicaid, WIC, nothing. I work 55+ hours a week at a mangerial level, have a college education, and pay ALL my bills on time. Not everyone who qualifies for free/reduced lunch is a 'freeloader', regardless of your skewed view. Our school district also offers free breakfasts for all students, regardless of income, albeit not in the classroom. It is an awesome program, because let's face it...you cannot tell which child is HUNGRY by looking at them...and their should not be any HUNGRY child in this country. Not in 2012.
You are right! Take t
I agree completely. There should never be a hungry child in America, especially in this day and age.
You obviously didn't read my post. I never cited any "stats" , never used the word "freeloader" and said I wasn't opposed to this breakfast program but I merely had some questions. Like why must we have a "hot" breakfast in the classroom. That's more than I ever had growing up and I did fine. Also, maybe you don't qualify for the various programs you mention and that's fine, but many families already get assistance and parents that withhold that assistance from children should be held accountable. Lastly, if you can't tell the hungry kids from those that aren't, is feeding them all a hot breakfast the right way to go? Why not just keep some granola bars, are fruit available so those that are hungry can have something. A kid only needs 200-300 calories for breakfast and a breakfast bar and piece of fruit is sufficient.
Why is everything such a production. Teachers cleaning messes, interference with lessons, throwing out lots of food. It's wasteful.
I'm just curious - what about all the food stamps many of the families are already getting? Is anyone cross-referencing and making necessary cuts? In my community, I see many using the EBT cards in the grocery store; yet the kids are getting free breakfast, lunch and dinner in the schools, fed in the summer, getting food for the weekend, etc. I really hope that if they get one, the other is reduced or eliminated, considering the financial straits we're all in.
Wondering the same thing myself
For your information, most of the time food stamps are not enough to last for the whole month. You people need to stop bashing the children for being poor, and criticize the greedy in this country that want more.
As someone who has lived on assistance and who has observed those on assistance... Food stamps definitely ARE plenty for a month. If you are a smart shopper and willing to forego your favorite foods, maybe cook a few things from scratch instead of purchasing packaged goods.
We ate a lot of chicken and hardly any beef... Lots of PB&J and Ramen Noodles. It wasn't the time of my life but it was what was nevessary to get a leg up. Being frugal, even on assistance is the reason I no longer need it, and has given me many skills I use still today.
My opinion... We should limit the type (and possibly) brand of food people can use food stamps to purchase and spend more money teaching them how to do meal-plannign and budgeting like our grandparents all did when they were coming up.
No one is bashing a poor child. What bothers a lot of people are those that abuse the benefits. I have seen first hand people purchasing crap with their food stamps. It is well studied that a lot of recipients do not purchase healthy foods. School may be the only place these children get a good meal. That being said, if they are being fed at school their parents' monies should be looked at
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My child attends a school where he participates in a Breakfast in the Classroom program. They do not offer any other time for breakfast. It's not free...unless you fall under the poverty guidelines. It is truly a great way for the kids to get some nutrition at the start of the day, especially when many children (such as my own) don't like to eat really early in the morning.
Schools aren't just serving breakfast and lunch. Many urban schools send kids home with food for dinner and sned packages of food over the weekends and long breaks. There are programs to distribute free lunches during summer breaks. It seems telling that schools are acknowledging that the only care these children get is from the schools. Officials cannot be certain children will eat unless they provide food for them. Perhaps it would be better if urban schools converted into 5 day boarding schools. Kids stay at school Monday-Friday, they can receive an education and meals, make sure they sleep, parents can see their kids on weekends. It might be the only way these children can be properly cared for if parents can't be trusted to do something as simple as feed a child breakfast.
Perhaps it would be better to getillegals out of schools, and not reward people who have a kid for a government paycheck. Why should taxpayers have to be the responsible ones for those who refuse?
There's a reason so many people from Mexico come to the US. Parents in the US don't even have to provide food for their kids'. The government provides everything.
How about instead of public boarding school, just take the kids away from the parents who aren't feeding their kids, sterilize the parents so they can't breed more and be done with it. For those parent(s) on food stamps, we can now take away the food stamp program since the parents no longer of young ones to feed; the adults can go fend for themselves.
We use schools to usurp the parents role for poor families. Our public schools are not succeeding at their primary job which is providing an education. The reasoning seems to be... If we can't get our scores up, let's make schools important in other ways. We'll be the parents of poor children since we can't trust their own parents to raise(socialize) them the way we want....
Did you miss the part about the kids behaving better (not interrupting class instruction) and scoring higher on tests when they've had food? This whole program is to improve school performance. If a kid is hungry, they are not only not learning, but their behavior may be impeding the learning of your kids in the classroom too. A school's job is to educate our future citizens. That doesn't just mean learning math and reading. It also means teaching basic citizenship and civic responsibility, things they may not be learning at home.
I taught at an urban secondary school for at risk kids for 12 years. 95 percent plus were on the free lunch program which also offered free breakfast. The school allowed students who showed up late to go get breakfast or a granola bar. Students not only missed class time but now also had no sense of a deadline. If I show up at McDonalds at 10:31, I'm not getting an egg McMuffin. Not because I can't afford it, but because they are not served after 10:30. This catering is not teaching anything. I know breakfast is important and hungry people, not just kids, are out of sorts when their blood sugar is low. I also understand that food expensive, but I don't think a six pack of granola bars a week for a household to purchase is asking too much. If it is too much, then get to school on time and receive the free meal provided at the time it is provided.
The first time the child showed up late and no parent was horrified you had a problem. The biggest issue today is that parents can't be held liable for anything. In business when we have nonconformance to a contract the parties can be held financially and even criminally liable. Believe me if parents believed they would end up in jail and their kids would be in foster care they would change their tunes. Honestly I think in some communities where the parental involvement is particularly low we should actually create boarding schools and send the kids off for their K-12 education and be done with it. A year or two later you'd see some change – five years hence the kids would change. It's the environment we've created – parents feel no sense of responsibility.
Oh yes and by the way – replace the whole welfare system – bus the parents into areas where there is work – give them a start. Put the kids in boarding school until the parent can prove the child will be in a positive environment. And not one red cent for the child should go to the parent in that case. The money should go to a special account at the school to provide for individual small needs. I think this system would be cheaper, more effective and we'd have fewer parents having kids for irresponsible reasons.
Good Lord. You could write a Dickens novel, you are such an azzhole. "decrease the surplus population" should be your mantra.
This Kevin guy takes his cues from Hitler and Stalin...
I have several teacher friends in one of the districts mentioned in the article. They were mostly skeptical when the district announced it was implementing breakfast in the classroom. Now, after 3 weeks, they love it. The menu is designed to avoid spills; nutritional value is obviously not perfect but far, far better than most of them would be getting at home (that is, in many cases nothing at all & in most others some form of sugary junk food) – milk & fresh fruit every day. Takes about 15 minutes total, from serving to clean-up. Students are more responsive & engaged through the morning. Overall there doesn't seem to be a downside, unless you think that fat billionaires need the money more than children with hungry minds and bodies. I realize that some of us hold that persuasion and probably hate me for reminding them. I am glad they are not running the show.
I taught for years, I think it is a great idea. There are also always parents who have more $$ than time, and would love to help donate directly to their child's school for something like this. Besides, for the most part, the first 20 minutes of class in the lower grades are blown anyway, getting everyone to settle and listening to announcements.
The disparity between school districts across the country is very interesting. Now if I might digress... Growing up in a single parent income family, I was always fed breakfast BEFORE arriving at school. I seriously question why taxpayer dollars are being used to feed the children of parents who clearly shouldn't be having children they can't afford to raise. Breakfast needn't be expensive.
The point is, Jennifer, that many of us – we'll see how many in November! – believe that children should not be punished for their parents' failings, and if the children in question are our fellow Americans, then they are in a way our children as well, and it behooves us to treat them as we would want our own children to be treated. After all, our own biological children will have to share this world with their peers when they grow up; what kind of generation do we want to raise for our children to grow up in? Say what you will about parents in poverty – many of whom work harder and longer than you or I, for far less compensation – but where do you get off punishing a child for its parents' failures? Do you think a child deserves to starve if its parent is a deadbeat? Shame on you.
This is the biggest load of BS I've ever read. Let the athletes & rappers feed these future gangsters. Do you think they're thankfull?
If kids aren't getting fed at home, then obviously the "childhood obesity" epidemic is all a lie. So which is it...they're all starving or they're all fat?
Mike- a lot of these kids are living off of cheap foods, mac and cheese, ramen, cheap canned meats and cheap bread. It is easy to get fat off these foods as the servings sizes are very small and the fat and calories are very high. Take for example, 1 package of ramen, most will eat a whole package, but that is 2 servings and I don't know many who are full after eating it.
I hear you about the "don't punish kids for their parents' mistakes" mentality. However, we sometimes have to do just that, in order to make the parents change their ways and become responsible for their behavior. If a parent knows that no matter what they do, or how many kids they have, the community will swoop in and take care of everything, what's to serve as a catalyst for change? Nothing at all.
The cry of not allowing the children to suffer for their parents' mistakes is B.S.. The parents need to be held accountable. If the parents don't want their kids to continue the cycle of poverty when they grow up, then the parents need an example and motivation for the kids to do better. Let the kids learn from their parents' mistakes. Too many people are being dragged down into poverty themselves because they are being taxed to death to cover for other peoples' mistakes.
I suppose, in the interest of protecting taxpayer dollars, you would rather see poverty-stricken children starve.
We The Responsible People have to pay for those that aren't. What does the Baby's Momma do w/ her welfare check. I don't feel 1 damn bit sorry for these folks. Lazy ignorant folks creating more lazy ignorant folks. That's what is ruining our formerly great nation.
I agree 100%. If you cannot afford children, then don't have them. It's about time people resume taking responsibility for their actions.
Most agreed!! In this day and age, people know where and how babies come from. There is no excuse to have babies one cannot afford. There are many forms of birth control from abstinence to abortion and everything in between, along with putting unwanted babies up for adoption.
Last time I checked, a condom cost less than breakfast.
Jennifer, tax payer dollars do not support this program-read the ENTIRE article. It is funded by a Wal-mart foundation.
Why Walmart loves free school breakfast
http://tinyurl.com/98e8xe4
"Most school nutritional services departments in U.S., he says, are self sufficient. They rely on federal USDA money, state funds, and money that students spend on lunch."
I'm always amazed at how little people understand. Relying on federal USDA money and state funds does NOT make you self-sufficient. Money that students spend on lunch, yes. Handouts, no. I'm not saying the free and reduced lunch program isn't a good thing, but its an error to say this is self sufficent.
We had something similar to this in high school. We were allowed up to two breakfasts per student. The teacher would ask who wanted breakfast and take a count and 2 students would be sent to get them. However, these were not free breakfasts! Not even almost. And most of the breakfasts (it alternated everyday) were delicious.
Actually that program of breakfast in classroom was originally created by the Mexican government during the late 1960's and it persisted by many decades, I have no idea if that program still exists today.
The truth is that the basic breakfast has helped to many children around Mexico mostly for those who lived in poverty.
It is beyond me how some people always want to decide what is good for us in the most
execrable way. Feeding any kid even at school is the correct way to insure that our nations children are getting at least a good mornings start. If you haters think for one moment that I take from the system you'll be dead wrong. I have donated millions to schools programs. I can understand how some think that all is needed is to have money to have children. Money is not every thing, I should know. If you think is way, I truly hope you never have any child.
We had this program piloted at our school. Teacher questioned the ingredients and poor quality of food but teachers concerns were waved aside. So we feed the children every morning. There is not that special teacher time where teachers sit and eat with their children. They are checking kids names off list, cleaning up spills, answering the phone calls from parents, etc. They tried that line on us.....most food ends up in trash no matter how hard we try to encourage them to eat.....that 20 minutes stretches to 30 minutes which cuts into our reader's workshop time...yes...I know all the creative things you can do while their eating...but who is going to do it? I'm busy cleaning up.
Or you could use it as an opportunity to get the kids involved and have a rotating list of students and chores. Part of teaching is making the students part of a community. Stop waiting on them (and complaining about your martyrdom) and have the kids help with the work involved.
You are so right! You must work with little ones like I do. They have trouble opening the packages and not spilling, they are 6 years old it is to be expected. Our principal was understanding of this and is allowing our kinder and First Grade students to eat in the cafeteria. After three weeks, we have gotten down the passing of food down the line and everyone is eating. Some of the food ends up in the trash but I can see some benefits now. It is cutting into instructional time and there is no way around that.
Oh we do use older students to help and we are very creative with assigning jobs to the students. It is about training them but it is not a "special" family time with teacher and students.
Regardless of how you feel about it being an economic issue, I have a news flash for all those who think it cuts into "learning" time. Nutrition IS learning. Eating with peers has many positive psychosocial effects, and teaches autonomy, the relationship between foods and health, and creates bonds with peers and teachers. Whether you like it or not, school is also for these things, as children don't often learn social skills without their peers.
An individual who is socially balanced is more apt to absorb the learning in schools. And in my experience, when a teacher can forge a bond in other ways beyond the strict curriculum, the child is more likely to listen. Additionally, mealtimes are a place when a lot of children are more apt to share their problems, concerns, creativity, and stories. So for those of you who have children with no problems, good for your kid. Learning isn't always during lessons, for the student or the teacher, it's much more emergent than that.
As for the nutritious value of the food being served, the nutrition budget is extremely small. Most nutrition directors would love to do more, but have to stay within their budgets. If you want to complain about the nutrition in these foods, either have your kid opt out (some kids get 75% of their meals from free lunch/breakfast) or take a more crime place in it by being informed about ways to stop lobbyists from paying off the USDA. In fact, lobby yourself to have the free lunch program moved to Public Health from USDA jurisdiction, since it's not really relevant to the USDA any longer.
Well said!!!!
While kids deserve to be fed before school–either at home or at school, I do not think a 1/2 bran muffin, 1/2 orange, and choc milk is all that nutritious. My district has had this program for more than 5 years. Started off with real good foods (though I have never seen a hot breakfast served), but now it is down to muffins, mexican pastries, cold dollar pancakes, etc. Everything is prepackaged. Little variety. PS–98% of them qualify for free lunch (most of which goes in the trash).
I could not agree more. We too have this program. The rooms are stinky(think sausage, maple syrup in a closed room with no windows, all day!, the kids make a mess the teachers have to clean up(especially the smaller kiddos). The food is awful, total packaged high carb/sugar foods that are creating a medical underclass in our society. It also cuts into teaching time by at least 20 minutes each day, which is significant. All those foods have to be received, passed out, eaten and cleaned up. there is one sink for washing, as opposed to cafetirias with numberous sinks. I understand wanting kids to eat breakfast, and I agree. But this program has become the least favorite part of teachers' days, and is teaching our children to crave over sweet, processed foods, which in the long run contributes to all kinds of ill health.
The school kitchen workers are unionized. The Districts can't afford to have them do the cooking. In most large school districts, the kitchen workers just heat and serve prepared food. It's cheaper to have some non-union worker 40 miles away slice up an apple, put it in an individual container and have it trucked into the school. That's why Jamie Oliver's work trying to improve school lunches don't work. Districts cannot afford the workers. So it's microwaved breakfast burritos and microwaved cups of pre-made oatmeal loaded with preservatives. Honestly, it'd be cheaper and healthier to have McDonald's cater breakfast for these kids.
My kids' district serves a whole fresh fruit (not 1/2!) & milk daily. Teachers give the choice of chocolate milk or regular – hey, chocolate milk is better than no milk! Hot meals from the cafeteria twice a week, cereal or muffin (a whole one!) the other days. A whole lot better than they would get at home for the most part.
All the pessimism, naysaying, and whining on this forum is just a front for the folks who can't stand to see poor children getting treated like they matter. They want to see poor kids ragged, barefoot, and rickety; I suppose from the distorted sense of superiority it gives them.
How about having the poor parents sterilized so they stop breading, reduce the number of poor children who will grow up to produce more poor kids, reduce the amount of handouts, reduce the number of students in overcrowded schools, etc.
Stop feeding our kids crap- at home or at school. I am here to say that if you (the school) gave my kids this crap, you'd be meeting with my attorney. These families that need 'help' can find it other ways... Schools are for educating- they are not a diner. A tub of oatmeal costs pennies on the dollar to a box of $5 crappy sugary cereal or pop tarts or frozen pastry junk you pop in your toaster.
We all would like to feed the hungry , give everyone free health insurance , and continue with entitlement programs for seniors , but honestly......feeding able bodied adults through welfare is truley gonna bankrupt this country , I feel most badly for the millions of children not born yet who will have to pay this bill , nobody can live for long without balancing their own budgets, sure i have sympathy for all the kids out there but at what poiint do we become realistic and get democrats to care about future generations of americans. please vote.
It doesn't sound to me like feeding the hungry is very high on your list of priorities. I am guessing probably a considerable distance below tax breaks for the wealthy. Tell me I'm wrong.
Parents who cannot provide food for their children and are getting food stamps and other welfare assistance need to be investigated by social services. Too many families, especially immigrant families, use the tax payer funded food stamps provided to their US Citizen children to feed their entire family, including adult illegal aliens who qualify for no food assistance. There was a sob story at our church appealing for more donations to the food pantry about a family where only the 3 US citizen children got food stamps and that food had to be shared with the kids mother & her 5 other relatives that lived with them. These 3 children were going hungry so that 5 other adults in the house could eat their tax payer funded food. IMO, the kids should have been removed, the mother jailed for neglect and the 5 relatives deported. That food is for those kids, not the other people in the house.
For all those who say families can't afford breakfast- how expensive is a box of oatmeal and some milk . Seriously! It costs less than $5 a week to feed kids breakfast. They don't need to be filled with all this sugary junk or a bunch of juice. In LA, they insist on hot breakfasts, so they're giving the kids a bunch of junk like commercially made breakfast burritos. Kids don't need that junk and tax payers shouldn't have to pay for it. If you want to feed your kids junk like that- do it with your own money.
you know dude. the illegal immagrants are also human. i know its your duty to care about only us citizen. But there is some thing more important then patrotism. Thats call humanity. Free lunch or breakfast is a good initiative but it should be for all students other wise it will show the class discrimnation and the poor kids can feel lower self esteem for that. Food should be more basic and more normal . like oat meal and milk with a fruit. thats more than enough for little kids for breakfast. i would suggest please dont throw the food which will be wasted. feed to poor people , animals. please dont throw food. i suggest to all. we all have to respect food. and stop thinking about fat percentage. eat less share more. give a quater of your meal to some needy people. man you will feel good as well as you will loose weight.
@ Freedom – Sure, illegals are human, and while it would be super if we could help everyone in the world who needed help, it's simply not possible. We are already struggling financially in our country to help the legal folks. What you are proposing is really no different than feeding all the neighbors' children while your own are sitting at home with growling bellies.
Just a hunch, but I'll bet you are more upset about the burrito part than the pre-packaged part.
ok, I really dont get this. I remember when I was in school, breakfast was served before the first bell rang but there was time to eat it before first period. If you rode the bus to school all the buses arrived well before the first bell, so all children had a chance to eat. Does this not happen any more? Do children not ride the school bus and all parents take there children to school? Because those would be the only children that arrived late enough to miss breakfast. School is supposed to prepare children for life and in the real world you don't get to eat your breakfast at your desk and then begin working. You eat at home or come to work early an get someting at the cafe BEFORE going to work (or you eat a bagel in your car, next they are going to give them breakfast on the bus on the way to school)
Welcome to the Nanny State. Parents can't be trusted to get their kids to school on time, let alone early enough for breakfast, so the geniuses' running our schools take 30 minutes of instructional time to feed all the children, regardless if they've had breakfast or not. Next they'll be offering 5 Day Boarding.
When I was in school, the parents were responsible for feeding their kids breakfast BEFORE they got on the bus. The parents were also responsible for making sure the kid had a lunch, even if it was only PB&J sandwiches everyday.
Sadly NO! Most buses at our school arrive 10 mins before the bell rings causing lots of kids to be hurried by staff to eat quickly and get to class!!!
We have this program in St. Paul. Despite being told that the breakfasts would be healthy and shown a sample menu that was full of healthy foods, the breakfasts always consist of either cheesebread or chocolate chip muffins. And, every child is required to go through the breakfast line and parents are not allowed to opt out of the program. We give our children a healthy breakfast every morning, but we're not allowed to tell out children that they can't eat cheesey high fat foods at school.
Please keep this program out of schools. It's pointless. Severing breakfast in the class will not encourage parents who don't already take advantage of the program to sign their kids up. There is plenty of time from when buses come to when school starts for the kids to get breakfast, any kid who blames being late on breakfast is lying or their parent needs to bring them earlier if they are being dropped off. And now, they'll have to hirer more janitors to clean food and stains out of the carpet of every classroom, instead of just off the concrete (or whatever) in one room. The program is fine the way it is, or tack an extra half an hour on to the day for breakfast. Don't make the school day even shorter then it is, I send my kids to school to LEARN.
Most of these parents have jobs!
I worked in a poverty-stricken area as a high school teacher. These students mostly have parents who have jobs, but unfortunately minimum wage does not provide all the necessary funds for them to provide children with proper nutrition. Many of you think that most of these children have lazy welfare collecting parents, but these parents work and try to provide a better life for their kids. Unfortunately, it is hard to get out of poverty. Programs like these give our next generation a fighting chance.
The top educational system in the world, Finland's, provides nutritious breakfast, lunch, and medical treatment on site for their students. They provide the necessary needs of the student so the student can go and excell in the classroom.
Seriously... so many of you people and your apathy and ignorance of society's ills... it makes me sick.
"Seriously... so many of you people and your apathy and ignorance of society's ills... it makes me sick"
It makes me sick that so many people are breeding without the ability to afford the kids and others that in spite of being to afford the kids, are unwilling to make an effort to be a responsible parent. It is irresponsible of these folks; they need to be sterilized asap.
@ Anakah – I too work in a poverty-stricken school district. I would love to give people the benefit of the doubt, but for the most part, I see parents who do NOT work and have numerous stairstep children, all with different last names (I get copies of the census forms they fill out, so this is not speculation, but fact). Also, for the most part, the moms were between 15-17 when they had their first (we also get copies of BCs) which basically dooms them from the start.
There are a lot of lessons we can learn from Finland (and the other Scandinavian countries as well). They spend far less than we do and get far better results. The real reason we don't copy them is that they are socialists, and to many Americans that has become an anathema. Never mind that socialism is not only good common sense and the only basis for a decent civilization, but it's also what Jesus preached and the original church practiced before they sold out in the 4th century. Now the religious extremists will hate me too.
I work in an elementary school in a lower income area and see great value in this program. Unfortunately, for many of our kids, this is the only meal they have had since lunch yesterday. I do, however, find the wording of the funding interesting. The money comes from somewhere. USDA funcs & state funds all come from taxes. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. Our children should come first. But nothing in this life is free. We all pay in some way.
I am all for adults being responsible for their children but what control do kids have over whether or not they get a meal at home? If this helps some poor hungry kids get a better start in school, then so be it. Kids can't learn if they are hungry and their stomachs are growling. Many parents are lazy, strung out on drugs and just indifferent to their kids, but a child should not suffer hunger here in the USA. It costs very little in the long run to feed these kids, who are in many cases trapped with sub-standard parents.
Sure, but at what point do some people need to be sterilized? I can't afford a kid, and am not willing to put forth the effort involved in raising one or several. So what. The school will provide breakfast, lunch, after school activities, Saturday activities, summer activities. All I need is a name tag so I remember who (s)he is.
you say this, but i think you know this isn't exactly true. otherwise, you wouldn't be so apprehensive to have a child of your own (if it was so easy).
Most agreed.
Seriously,
Do any of you read? There are NO tax dollars used for this program. None.
Now that you understand, what else could you possibly find issue with when it comes to feeding children?
What was that? The parents are lazy? Well far reaching assumption. But either way, I would never allow a child to starve based on there parents action or lack there of.
"They rely on federal USDA money, state funds, and money that students spend on lunch."
Do federal USDA money and state funds appear out of thin air?
Yes, Sonshine, we all read. I think you just don't understand what you read.
The article states that most nutritional services departments are funded by USDA funds. but this program in particular is strictly funded by the Walmart Foundation.
So, Sonshine did understand what they read and are correct.
There are ZERO tax dollars used for THIS PROGRAM. Other programs, however, are different.
Sonshine: Where do you think government funds come from?
Fine, then YOU feed the kids, but leave the rest of us and our tax dollars out of it.
Sonshine, this one particular program is funded by Walmart, but it clearly says that most programs across the country are funded by USDA (like the one my students receive), which is run on government money, hence is funded by tax payer dollars. You may have read it, but clearly could not comprehend it, perhaps your neighbor should be responsible for ensuring you eat, thus you would do better with mental exercises.
All these parents that don't feed their kids spend their food stamps on drugs and alcohol.? Do these parents return the food stamps given to them to feed their kids?
Lets face it. This is a set up by liberals/socialists to remove parental influence from every kids life and substitute big brother.
This is part of the Lenin/Alinskey/Obama socialist agenda.
Socialist and commies will be eliminated after the election.
I am a middle school teacher and work with middle and low income children every day. Please don't lump all poorer children and families into one group. Economic times are very tough right now. If that's not the case for you, then you are very fortunate. Think about this: Why not give these kids a better chance to succeed? They have no personal control over their family's circumstances. Perhaps if they are not hungry in school, they will be a better student and grow up to be a responsible adult in society.
Kay, thank you for sharing your perspective and providing such a logical argument. The others should try telling their point of veiw directly to the faces of the children this program benefits before they sit behind their computer screen and calling it a disgrace.
I also work in a school district with a high poverty rate – and while there are certainly some hard-luck cases involving parents who have worked hard and simply fallen into bad times, that sadly is NOT the norm. Most are single mothers, many of whom have stairstep children all with different last names, and the first child was born when Mom was between 15-17. (This is not my prejudice talking, but rather fact - I look at the census forms the parents fill out, the children's birth certificates, etc. It's all there in black and white.)
This program is at the school my children attend. I think it's great. My kids really enjoy being able to sit with their friends and start their day. Lunchtime is very rushed and they have very little time to bond with each other and the teachers throughout the day. I feel like this program is very beneficial to all involved, regardless of income.
Some of the comments on here are so outlandish and contradictory. Consider that half the people ranting about how parents need to be more proactive and if kids don't eat then social services should be called, but they don't want to foot the bill for a lunch. Well I ask you, where do you think the money will come from to pay to remove them from unfit homes? Social programs, that by the way are sometimes worse. Also half of you idiots are republicans who can't wait to throw the sin of abortion in someone face, but force them to have children they can't afford, but you don't want to feed those children... Well don't be very surprised when those children grow up and steal from you at gun point. When someone is huge.dry for long enough and no o.e cares, the question becomes why should I. It is after all every man for himself. We live in such an effed up society and we are raising a younger generation of even more effed up a holes. Then everyone scratches their heads and wonders why, but instead of looking at themselves they point at someone else. It starts with all of us realizing we really are in this together, and we should work together. It does in fact take a village!
I have no issue with free breakfast for students. My biggest concern is that I teach high school science, and eating in our lab rooms (which we teach in) is unsafe. And with the mice, rat, roach and ants infesting our building I belive feeding our students in the cafeteria is a good policy, at least it attmpts to keep the food (and critters) contained.
Gotta wonder how many mice are hiding in the cafeteria. Like it or not, where there is food, mice and bugs will be there. Same goes with restaurants and grocery stores.
RIP Devontae Williams, other children may be spared your fate now. Feed the children of the US and around the world. This poor boy died of starvation and his story has haunted me for years, I just kept thinking if someone would've just fed him or noticed something was wrong and called CPS. 🙁
R.I.P. Devontae Williams from Arlington, tx. Other children will be spared your cruel fate. Feed the children
Hey, where is my breakfast at MY job? I'm a member of the working poor, making just enough to get by. My biggest luxury is this old iPhone 3 and my window to the world, the Internet. Maybe if libs would provide me with free breakfast, food stamps and an EBT Card like my neighbors, I could upgrade to the iPhone 5! But then again, I wasn't raised to expect others to feed, cloth and pay for my wants. Maybe I been wrong all along.... Maybe we ALL should go on public Welfare and let the Rich support my a.. Hmmmmmm
For the record: I am a conservative Republican. I have supported Republican candidates since 1996. So, the "liberal agenda" gibberish, is just gibberish. What some of you do not realize is that hunger knows no party. Sen. Lugar, a Republican, realized that and was a strong advocate for child nutrition programs. Child feeding programs support our farming communites and uses billions of dollars of US grown and manufactured products, generating revenue (yes tax revenue) back into our economy. Lastly, I am proud to call myself a "Lunch Man" and am happy to place that alongside my credemtials as a School Nutrition Specialist and my MBA. Our School Nutrition Association represents all segments of our society, ethnically, politically, and socio-economically with one common goal: feeding our nation's children. I hope our leaders, no matter what party, can do the same.
I applaud your decency, honesty, and courage, Jon. As you are no doubt becoming increasingly and painfully aware, you no longer belong in the GOP. You are welcome among us heathen infidel Democrats and other unsavory characters who actually want to practice the Golden Rule as a matter of policy.
As institutions of learning, our public schools barely get a passing grade. So do we focus on improving the schools? No, we focus on expanding the schools role beyond their core mission. If they can't be good at one thing, then let's find more for them to do.
Breakfast in the Classrooms.
We cannot even keep the roaches out of the cafeteria and now we are going to have to fight roaches in our classrooms.
If you don't believe me, then visits cafeteria at midnight and watch them feast.
Now at least the children will have something to play with in their classrooms or bring it home.
Who makes these decisions?
I pay a share of Pest control districct wide, as do most School Nutrition Directors...
Actually, you don't pay the pest control services, the tax payers do. And that the kids are being served in the classroom as well as the cafeteria, that means the tax payer will have to pay more for those services
Wheww I pray none of you become poor or poorer than you already are for some! Some comments are good and some are just ignorant! I can see what some are saying on both sides of the coin. Im learning that people have so much hatred and bitterness in their hearts. Im glad God dont treat you like you trear others. Geesh!! You should thank God for what He has blessed you with and to do for your kids. Even the job He blessed you with to pay taxes and bkess others
One big problem with your statement. You are assuming people actually believe in God and/or care what God thinks.
citizen
Well that's wonderful! so you understand my point about those who do not care to help this country out, but instead soak the system just because it's easier? You fought for those people to be free and do what they want but many abuse this right by doing nothing at all. I apologize for sounding rash, I thought you were knocking me, I am very proud of having my degree and position at 21 years old. yes, it may be a big title for a small position but I am proud of it and have a super soft spot for topics concerning child welfare.
P.S. thank you for fighting for our country, I say that with my full respect and gratitude! 🙂
My kids go to school n Houston, Tx and every morning while they are in class they given free breakfast. Houston has been doing this for years now. Of course at tax payers expense which I do not mind. Everyone should have a full stomach before they start school. Every school should do this children should not suffer cause their parents do not have the means or time to feed them.
This is how the liberals spread their filth. Give them handouts while they are young. Other libs will take advantage because they don't want to earn anything and have everything handed to them. Real Americans, who actually work, who do need the program for a short time have to subject their kids to this filth and lies.
NO NEED TO RUSH! GO TO BED EARLIER AND GET UP EARLIER! IT IS THAT SIMPLE!
You are not a food service director. You are a lunch lady. WOW! This p.c. crap has gotten out of hand.
Would you like to see my college degree? What exactly is yours in??? I am technically an administrator, but specialize in the food service department. There is no reason to stoop to immature bashing, this is open for opinion and I gave mine. I think it's sad that you have nothing better to do with your time than comment on my post. You are a prime example of the ignorance I was trying to disprove on these comments. Thanks for your thoughts!
FRIST I THINK THIS IS GREAT AT LEAST ALL KIDS GET A CHANCE TO EAT IN THE MORING AND THERE NOT GOING HUNGRY AT SCHOOL AND AT LEAST THEY ARE NOT IN A RUSH ANYMORE. ANYWAYS THEY DO THIS AT MY DAUGHTER SCHOOL HERE IN NASHVILLE , TN
Great idea.you are what you eat.food makes a child more alert + ambitious.
This is a wonderful program for the kids!
I am a food service director to a very impoverished school and I see the need everyday! It is not the child's fault that their parents (for whatever reason; be it laziness, money issues, or lack of time) cannot or do not feed them breakfast. We should not punish the students for what is out of their control. yes, i agree that this may be misconstrued as 'catering' to students but if you think a little thing like handing them a breakfast turns them into irresponsible members of society then we as a whole have a lot of work to do!
May I reiterate what the article says, this is NOT a tax funded program. School cafeterias are self-sufficient, we rely on grants (like the walmart fund) and a la carte sales (that have nothing to do with taxes). If you are so worked up over your taxes feeding needy children, maybe you should take a walk over to your local "HUD" authority and see how many people are having their home paid for while they sit on their bottoms watching TV (probably paid for by another government program) eating food paid for by SNAP or TANF (which is our tax money).
Do we really have no understanding of the positive things this program gives children? Social skills, concentration, higher test scores, and the sleep they gain by not having to get up at '5:45' am to eat breakfast; is essential to growing minds and bodies!
Oh, and did anyone stop to think about parents who cannot do a breakfast as they are out doing exactly what you want by working all day and night just to make ends meet?
**Times are hard these days, do not take what you have for granted, you could be one needing a helping hand one day. Hope that hits some of you right in your pride!
And P.S. Obama has nothing to do with the final ruling on these programs, he has an opinion (as does his wife) but it is ultimately up to the USDA to make the guidelines. Take it up with them if you have issues.
Just to clarify....I get up at 5:45, not the kids. They sleep until 6:30. I get other stuff done, and don't wake them until breakfast time. They could even sleep until 7am but they like to shower in the morning instead of the night before. It helps them be up and alive (and Fresh..wihich apparently is now extremely important with teenage boys LOL). They also don't have to get to school until 8am, but they go at 7:30am when the doors open so that they can hang out with their friends. Early mornings are a decision we make because we control our day and how it goes.
As I've commented above, nobody wants little children to starve. However, if we cater to every need, then what on earth is there to motivate these irresponsible parents to actually take charge? Nothing whatsoever - they know they don't need to. Thus, the web spreads and problems increase. Things like this breakfast may seem inconsequential, but little things have a way of adding up and making a big picture.
Oh and he may have not caused all of them but he has made them worse. And don't give me that crap the Republicans refused to work with him. A good leader, like President Regan, President Clinton, and President Bush could get things done by working with both parties. obama has not done any of that.
Only 4 years? That seems like alot considering how much damage he has done.
How about parents take some responsibility – cereal and milk do not cost but a couple of dollars – wake up and take care of the children that we bring into this world......show them that they are a loving priority.
Where do you live? Cereal and milk cost way more than a couple dollars. Usually double and sometimes three times as more.
Cereal can be gotten at the dollar store. How many of those that can't afford cereal and milk can afford ipods, cigarettes, booze, internet connection, cable tv, monthly hair and nail appointments, etc?. As for those who don't have all those things and still can't afford cereal and milk, where are the grandparents, the dad (if mom is unwed), the aunts and uncles (as in families taking care of their own) the local churches and other charities? For that matter why are people breeding if they can't afford to feed and cloth kids?
Think it is time to start requiring those on welfare to be sterilized so they can't breed any more than they already have.
Not sterilized, of course - but I do believe that if someone has X children while on welfare, and then has a new baby next year, then benefits should be cut, not increased for the new family member. We can help others, but they also need to help themselves, and that is definitely not helping.
Why did you put child in quotes? Are you saying they don't exist? I am glad that one person get's up at 5:45 am to feed her kids. She is doing the right thing. And to the person who is being a jerk and insulting her, how about you and everyone else to lazy to take care of their kids get up as early as she does and actually raise them yourself instead of letting obama do it.
You must really hate President Obama. Fine feel free but do you hate poor kids? I guess you hate their parents for being poor. So since they take advantage of a program to feed their kids you hate them. Maybe its their fault the kids don't get enough to eat? Maybe the kids just like being full. Maybe they can pay attention to the class when their stomach is not rumbling. So hey punish the kids of course because their parents aren't good enough. You complain but forget that in the end kids get fed. There is no lose in that just win.
Alot of kids now adays need to skip a meal or 2. Get off the xbox and go outside and play. And yes this IS obamas fault. He has created a welfare state where everyone expects the government to take care of them. I am sorry but if my kids do not have time to eat before school then I am failing my kids. I need to get up earlier as well as my kids so they can eat. If I can't afford to feed my kids then I need to get a better job or work 2.
I agree .... You have kids you feed them.
This is unreal. Yet another person posting on here that something is Obama's fault. Obama has only been president for 4 years, and senator for 4 prior to that. He did NOT cause the problems of this country. Absolutely amazing and moronic, all at the same time.
I find it very humorous that someone who blames all liberals for creating a nanny state is on CNN. Shouldn't you be trolling fox news. So Obama did all this in almost four years huh? Fine point fingers at who ever you like but this program helps not hurts. Feeding hungry kids should never be a bad thing. I get that your perfect but maybe not everyone else is. kids go to school hungry everyday. Simple fact,no matter the reason. Why not feed them?
Don't blame Obama for kids going to school hungry, but I do blame the parents. They need to get better jobs or work two or three jobs if necessary and stop breeding any more kids. Can't afford them, don't have them.
There is no point in trying to teach liberals ANYTHING. Case in Point. Just vote you all out, making room for PPL with a brain that actually functions. Largest problem solved. Libs are revolting on a cellular level.
Republicans simply hate. Hate Minorities. Hate People who are gay. Hate the environment. Hate poor people. Rush says libs just feel but hate is a feeling too. Just not a good one. So just keep hating but realize what you are.
I wholeheartedly agree with this program! I would like to reiterate the point that NO EDUCATIONAL DOLLARS are being spent on this (try reading the ENTIRE article) as well as pointing out that we have a horridly high unemployment rate and that for some of these kids the meals at school are the only ones they will get.
As far as the gentleman who keeps saying "get a job"..have YOU looked for work lately? For that matter, have you read any employment statistics lately? The largest part of jobs lost in the U.S. have been in the mid to upper class range, and the vast majority of the jobs created are the ones like mine...bust my backside for 40-60 hours a week and still don't make enough money to clear the poverty line! (Before you point fingers mr judgemental, I work for the largest employer in this area..they may not pay a lot, but they do take care of their employees)
Try getting off your self-righteous clouds and realize that this program does a lot for students...all of them!
Well..well.its a great idea especially as is ben funded by kind hearted donors. Yes! Parents need to provide for thier kids but its ok to be oxr brother's keeper
I do not think it is a good pattern to encourage. when you get to school you should be prepared, this lesson relates to all future situations like college or work. Why don't we allow them to take a nap after lunch just in case they are tired? To allow these actions to take place we are not properly preparing them for the most basic, but important patterns of responsibility.
I have to agree. I see people bring in breakfast when they are already running an average of 30 minutes late. And they sit and eat. Now think about it, you have food and drink – how exactly are you susposed to put your full focus on what your task at hand is? You cannot.
I'm sorry but there are too many -outs- for not being responsible. People and children should get up with more then enough time to get ready, eat and be to work or class on time – and fed. And regardless if the child is poor, we simply cannot keep giving children what their parents are not providing for them. Odds are if you take a tally, most of these children have cable and some type of wifi or internet connection in their home and parents have cell phones. It's about choosing and deciding what is right for and your family. Not get an easy out because people like me are footing the bill for your kids lunch and now breakfast.
Wow! I've never encountered so many idiotic and short sighted people in all my days! What on earth is wrong with some of you. What kind of person begrudges a "child" food, muchless any person! The Devil is alive and well on this blog! Hateful, spiteful and selfish! It will probably take all of 15 minutes for them to eat, which is probably less time that is be used to get the kids to settle down and be quiet. Such short sightedness is shameful and you people are embarrassing with your hatred!
All the kids who want to eat at school in the mornings should have to show up an hour early, why should the children who eat breakfast at home be forced to watch others eat and just have this wasted time? What about the kids who do get up early enough to eat a reasonable breakfast seeing the example that they no longer have that responsibility of waking up early enough to take care of their cleaning needs, food, and along with the need to be on time for school. Now this same student is asking himself why bother, this responsibility is no longer necessary, maybe I will just carry my toothbrush and hairbrush with me and clean up in the sink.
@ Neece – Nobody wants to starve little children. However, sad to say, sometimes we MUST punish people a bit, in order to enforce a change. If some irresponsible parents know that no matter what they do, someone will swoop in and take care of their children, then what on earth will inspire them to take responsibility themselves? Nothing at all, ever.
It's not shortsightedness.. I am divorced, with five children, and cannot get support from my ex whose decided to not work and lives off the government.
I work – many hours. My taxes easily equal the same amount if I worked a part-time job. I'm tired of no raises in 4+ years because the company can't afford it, yet my taxes continue to rise – to pay for people that cannot take care of their own children w/o state intervention.
No one helps me ... and I do not ask for help because I do w/o instead. I ensure they go to school full, I ensure they have lunch and fruit/vegetables and none of us eat fast food. We also eat very simple meals, such as old fashioned oat meal and meat maybe once a week.
So tell me why I should be thrilled that my wallet via taxes is continuing to take these hits. Why can't the parents simply do w/o as I do? My nails are not done, nor my hair. I own no winter coat and make due with a sweater. I give everything I have – and it seems.... my hole wil never be full or filled in, because I'm not only giving to my children – but others as well.
Before you whine about paying taxes for others, admit you don't pay any yourself. Five kids and one income huh? You MAKE money every tax season not pay. If you make enough in your job to ACTUALLY pay taxes then stop whining about people who are really poor. People talk about taxes like their taxes fund everything the government does whether its good or bad. Sorry your tiny bit doesn't do much at all. Not that kids being full through the school day should be a bad thing.
For those of you thinking JUST about the money aspect, shame on you. This is about more than that. As a teacher, I know that school lunch is sometimes the only meal that kids are getting that day. And for those of you who think that the sugar rush in the morning is going to cause a lack of concentration in our kids, think about how distraction you get when you are hungry. I know that I always look forward to lunch and can't think about anything else when I am hungry.
Not only is this about the hunger issue, but the article made a good point about the social implications. What if your child is eating breakfast with someone that they don't understand and it helps them learn? What if your child becomes more culturally accepting, or learns about the lifestyles of other kids? What if breakfast in the morning with a child they wouldn't normally talks to changes their lives? This is about more than the money. This is about more than breakfast. This is about potentially changing one child's life, which in turn could have a major impact on our future.
You want kids...... you feed them
I think if you are aware a child has not eaten all day – you turn them into social services.
Some of us are bitter because we see the little we do have, divided up even more. If these parents want their children to eat breakfast, they – not us – should be giving up some of their perks. I have no perks. What MORE can I give up? Tell me... I'm already taking care of my children and struggling – why .. more? What are their parents doing to get them out of this situation.
Glad to hear some parents are taking responsibility. It is too bad more don't.
You are wasting your breath. These hate mongers won't care what you say. Some people's ignorance is all consuming. Although the article pointed out all of the benefits of the program all they care to point out are the only negatives there are and that's that some people need help to feed their families. They don't care that the children involved are better off because they can conceretrate which means bettter grades and therefore better students.
We live in a country whose mottos are "e pluribus unum" (out of many one) and "In God we trust". If we are all one then we should all care for one another and there's nothing godly about letting anyone suffer. Not everyone is poor because they have no ambition. Many people work hard and still don't have enough.
For me, it's not about the food, but about the time and way it is being delivered. It is also about the content of the food although I will agree that this breakfast is better than nothing.
I would prefer that they keep the start time for school the same, give the kids who ate breakfast at home social time or open gym time, and have the kids who still need to eat in the cafe whether they brought breakfast or get it from the cafe. They could extend the school day by that 15 minutes to 30 minutes. That would be more fair to the kids who eat at home. Also, get rid of that sugar right before you plop them in seats and tell them to sit still. Don't set them up for failure like that!!
No it's not hunger games. Oh and the small amount of sugar they would have exceeds being hungry any day. Maybe you don't get hunger but some kids do. Every day they do. Blame whoever you like but feeding kids is not evil. it amazes me that people could blame children for what their parents do. Hungry is hungry. So blame this program for doing what parents should do but don't blame it for being wrong.
Exactly. I find it incredibly sad that some people would rather let a bunch of kindergardeners starve than give up the chance to preach their particular political ideology. This isn't the Hunger Games; this "every man for himself"/ to hell with everyone attitude is just plain selfish. I simply do not see how anyone with even half a conscience can have a problem with innocent CHILDREN getting a decent meal.
I think this is sad in 2 ways that people that support this program have to defend an those that are opposed are truly miguided people. Why do certain people think the kids arent learning because they are eating in the classroom. If this is expanding there social network then ask yourself as a adult parent or not that when you sit down with others and eat on your job do you not learn new things about people. Now whether it be something personal or information you didnt before how is that a mistake. For some reason alot of people thinks that we as individual humans can do whatever we want alone. People wake up, yes we are born alone an we die alone but while we are here we should make relatiomships through whatever means we can with each other. The last time i checked we are a socail creature. BACK TO THE POINT, i grew up on the free lunch program an i turned out just fine. My mom made breakfast most morning when i was younger but by the time we all get to high school, lets be real we skip breakfast. It work.
Learn how to spell also.
have YOU tried finding a job lately? Good luck finding one that will boost a person out of the poverty level!!
Want to raise people out of poverty? How about stop letting them breed? Or take a clue from China, limit households to 1 or 2 kids. If a parent has problems feeding one or two kids, they certainly can't afford to feed 3,4, 5 or more kids.
What I don't understand is why if these children already qualify for free or reduced cost meals do there need to be 2 opportunities for them to get breakfast. If their parents are not getting them to the schools for meals and won't or cannot feed them at home, shouldn't child welfare be involved? I am not against this program at all, but I see this as a band aid for a problem that allows many of the parents not to take responsibility for the welfare of their children.
This program is not funded by government money. It is paid for entirely by the funding provided by the Walmart Foundation. It is a great program to get students fed and ready to learn. http://www.breakfastintheclassroom.org. Educate yourself.
I believe if the article had mentioned this, less people would of complained. So no, it is up to the article to educate us so we do not jump to conclusions.
The article does mention this...You might try reading the entire article. No tax dollars fund this program. Last paragraph: "Breakfast in the Classroom is run by Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, which is funded by grants from the Walmart Foundation." And speaking of educating, the correct term is 'would have' not 'would of.'
I don't understand why everyone thinks this has anything to do with parents not caring for their children. My childrens' school district started this two years ago, on a trial basis. We are a small school district, but not impoverished in any way. They just wanted to see if there were any benefits and it has worked out great. I was surprised my little one actually enjoyed having breakfast in class. My oldest does not have it on her campus since they just have it in the elementary schools at this time. Believe me when I say I TAKE CARE OF MY KIDS. My husband and I just have two because we can afford two and they are well taken care of. My youngest had never eaten breakfast, at school, until this program started.
If you read all of the story,the funding DOES NOT come from local tax dollars. That is not a very smart argument as it is becasue my husband and I pay taxes as well. So in essence no one would take care of my kids for me.
Urg! Sugar cereal + juice+choc milk and fruit. Then they'll put all those kids on Ridalin because they can't sit still after all that sugar. And this is a SCHOOL!! Thanks, but I'll feed my kid a healthy breakfast at home and sit down and eat with him.
the word is Ritalin
Oh wow, my bad.....none of mine ever needed it
Sorry Cat I forgot your a perfect mother.
The inabilty of supposedly intelligent people, to read and comprehend is astonishing.
PROOF to me, that most folks would rather "Cut off their noses", than deal with the truth.
Search in your HEARTS people, Be REAL with yourselves for ONCE
...Is your hate of Obama REALLY about his policies?
This article is about a wonderful program, that I hope catches on. It seems EVERY response was a misguided and misinformed attack on Obama. Ultimately I think it doesn't matter, the faces in each Conventions crowd told the truth about the "America's" we live in.
The Donkey wants to live and let live, The Elephant wants a return to pre 13th Amendment.
There are a lot of people out there that probably had jobs when they had kids and are now out of work. Millions of hard working Americans are one paycheck from being without a job or being homeless. I truly hope that something like that doesn't happen to you or anyone you know and that their children don't end up with no breakfast.
Agreed. One side hates, the other cares. Guess who is who.
Kids come ready to learn? How do you come ready to learn if you are eating breakfast at your desk. You aren't ready to learn. The problem I see with this 3 fold, no tax money is being spent on the meals themselves but our tax dollars pay the employee fees, which brings me to the point of clean up and the amount of time and power that goes into that, those are tax payer dollars. 2 the parents of these children couldn't get their kids to school early for a free meal, that tells you a lot. Pander to the weak and they get weaker, 3 my kids eat at home, what now they get a 2nd meal, hello fatties, obesity. What do my kids do, sit there and twittle their thumbs while others eat. Food for those who can't get it is awesome but you can't keep coming up with ways to cater to people. Look at Africa if you want to know hat happens when people become dependent on hand outs.
Well said.
So in your world, I suppose adults should also not be allowed to eat at their desks at work, or have a kitchenette with snacks?
Employees get a lunch break, not a breakfast break. They should eat – before – they come to work, not take time to prepare and eat their food, when they are being paid to eat. Snacks are very different and should not interfere with work.
This is not a tax payer funded program! Aside from that, what the hell is wrong with you people? Why would you want a child to go hungry, for whatever reason? Some of you are disgusting, where is your empathy?
the meals aren't tax payer funded, yet I say yet because eventually they will be, after the program takes hold and the sponsers walk out, once things are given it is hard to pull them out. and tax payer dollars are used for the clean up, or does the garbage trya and what not just disappear, no some paid employee comes and gets them. no accountability, a free meal more than likely because the parents don't work and yet they couldn't get their kids to school earlier for a free meal but are the first to complain how hard it is, what happens when their is no money for these programs at all and the people have become dependent. I say feed the kids but not in the classroom sit them in the cafeteria, let them eat and then go to class. Let my sons learn the entire time that they are supposed to, then the kids still eat but don't tell me they are in their seats ready to learnm they aren't they are eating and talking, my kids will go to college and want good jobs, not the dumbing down that this provides. My sons aren't allowed to get any C's or no sports or extras, 2nd and 5th grade, thank godthe don't go to these schools, but that is why when we move every 2 years I choose the area based on school. these programs only keep rotten areas rotten
In my area of the state a similar program is being funded by our federal tax dollars. A growth in the nanny state that further reduces incentive.
In my area of the state a similar program is being funded by our federal tax dollars. A growth in the nanny state that further reduces incentive.
I don't want ANYONE to go hungry. But I do think this is a terrible idea. Here I am getting up at 5:45am so that my child will go to school with an egg white omelet loaded with veggies, whole wheat toast, and a piece of fruit (and I'm sure there are parents in this class who do the same). Then, during first bell they bring out the chocolate sugar pops+choc milk+ large fruit juice+ fruit. He's going to want to eat that if the other kids are. So now 2 breakfasts, 1 of which I would never allow him to have. So what then? Should first bell be seperated by kids whose parents take care of them and kids whose parents don't? Can't we just buy the poor people some oatmeal and fruit? It takes exactly 120 SECONDS to make a bowl of instant oatmeal and serve a piece of fruit. If people can't take literaly 2 minutes out of their morning to serve their kids some food I question if they should be allowed to raise their children.
You can't hear it, but I'm clapping very loudly over your comment. Well done.
So since you've raised perfect children, surely you can tell them not to eat the second breakfast, right? You don't choose your parents, not everyone gets an egg white omelet with veggies. Have a heart!
Just evil.
I have a huge heart and I never implied my kids are perfect (OK, you got me...they're darn close!!) I'm tired to death of hearing why no kid should get a traditional education because too many kid's parents don't do right by them. Help the kids out, certainly, but don't stear my kid toward bad habits to "even it out".
Why would you want a child to go hungry, for whatever reason? Some of you are disgusting, where is your empathy?
That money being donated from places like The Walmart Foundation is still coming out of the pockets of people who purchase items from those corporations (the foundations don't grow the money on trees). As for a child going hungry... they aren't my kids, they aren't my responsibility. I did the responsible thing of not having kids I couldn't afford. My empathy went out the window when people breed without the thought about how to afford those kids. It is disgusting that there people who have kids and then let them go hungry.
the kids you feed now are hopefully the ones that are productive in the end. It's a bet we should be willing to take. A good citizen = taxes paid. These programs pay for themselves and don't require a ton of extra support. These reduced fee/free meals have been offered for quite a long time. The only change is where it's served.
and when it is served. when class should have begun. My sons already go to school from 9-4. maybe that is what should be done stop the 7:45 start time and begin classes at 9 am. 7-3 doesn't make sense anyway parents that work aren't home at 3. just another way for paretns to skip out.
To "read the article please". This is already being done in my part of the state with my federal tax dollar. Irregardless of need, each child gets breakfast served in the classroom. The food thrown away could feed a small army.
This is an absurd use of our tax payer's hard earned dollars. This help's to raise another generation that expects big government to take care of them.
Oh my goodness! Does anyone read to the end of the article? You might try reading the entire article. No tax dollars fund this program. Last paragraph: "Breakfast in the Classroom is run by Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, which is funded by grants from the Walmart Foundation."
This is already being done in my part of the state. Irregardless of need, both econimic or physical, a child is given breakfast. The leftovers thrown in trash would feed a small army.
Then don't blame the federal government. Blame your state government which is very republican by the way. It's always easy to point fingers.
"which is funded by grants from the Walmart Foundation."
And where do you think the Walmart Foundation gets it's money?
If I make my kids go to bed early, it's to be able to wake them up early, give them time to eat, arrive to school on time to be prepare for school. Last thing I want is for them to eat again once they arrive in the classroom! Aren't we talking about obesity issues?
If parents don't have food to feed them, the system is already in place to provide them with a free breakfast BEFORE school! Why are those kids arriving late to start with, that they need to eat IN the classroom?! This is not an income issue: it's a parenting issue!
THIS is why Obama, and his Culture MUST GO. Thankyou for outraging me again to vote Romney.
Like you were voting democrat any way. You simply Hate. Blame everyone else for your personal problems. Some people simply care about others and your not one of them. Nothing wrong with that but it just makes you republican.
Hey, U.S. Government....take our money, take our land, give our jobs to foreign countries, spend billions on wars and now you are the GREAT PARENT...feed them in the classroom..absurd.
You might try reading the entire article. No tax dollars fund this program. Last paragraph: "Breakfast in the Classroom is run by Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, which is funded by grants from the Walmart Foundation."
Love my hard earned money feeding kids when their parents won't because they know we will.
You might try reading the entire article. Your hard earned money does ot fund this program. Last paragraph: "Breakfast in the Classroom is run by Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, which is funded by grants from the Walmart Foundation."
And where do you think places/groups like the Walmart foundation get its money?
"read the whole article please", Cadet is asking you a question. Since you keep replying with the same comment, you must have some answers. Please answer Cadet's question. Thank you.
Geez, why don't we just hand all the kids over to te Government & let them 'raise 'em' – seems we're feeding them, clothing them – might as well raise them too, seeing how the 'parents' can't 'afford them'! If you can't Feed them, DON'T Breed Them – simple!!
I couldn't agree more Steve!
You might try reading the entire article. No tax dollars fund this program. Last paragraph: "Breakfast in the Classroom is run by Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom, which is funded by grants from the Walmart Foundation." Since so many parents have lost jobs, that may be why they can't feed their children breakfast.
Comprehension isn't their strong point. It's easier to point out baseless "facts" they make up on the spot.
Whether it's government funded or privately funded is irrelevant. It is still someone other than the parents taking care of the needs of their children – something they should be responsible for doing. It is a handout either way you look at it.
Teri, There are a lot of people out there that probably had jobs when they had kids and are now out of work. Millions of hard working Americans are one paycheck from being without a job or being homeless. I truly hope that something like that doesn't happen to you or anyone you know and that their children don't end up with no breakfast. Although, then you might be grateful for such a program.
Walmart my fund with grants but these are deductalbe so taxes are subsidizing.
"which is funded by grants from the Walmart Foundation."
And where do you think the Walmart Foundation get its money? It isn't grown on trees.
I agree Steve (no, I really do). Let's just do what really needs to be done. We should invest in some boarding schools, pull these kids whose parents can't or won't do the raising...., and just give 1 or 2 generations of kids a shot at life and a steady upbringing. I know it's a little socialist....but so is welfare, medicaid, SS, etc.
It's a safety net for kids who lose their parents, we can catch the kids who have potential while their young and give them every tool they should have, and the kids who would have been really left behind could at least get the HS diploma and same trade school. A couple of generations of everyone having a good upbringing will solve many social ills.