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Equal split on school lunch poll

Posted by
Walter Geiger
in Opinion
Saturday, April 16. 2011
Comments (20)
Respondents in our poll regarding the necessity of school nutrition programs were nearly equally split.

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#1 Meal Ticket on 04/16/11 at 01:22 PM
I think the poll was a joke. I could look at it one day and it would be swayed heavily in one direction and come back the next and vice versa. That leads me to believe that someone was stuffing the ballot box. For the record, I voted YES, five times.
#2 Anonymous on 04/16/11 at 03:34 PM
In Lamar Co. it is a necessity. There are children whose only meals are their free lunch and free breakfast, and who go hungry on weekends without the school nutrition program. These kids parents are not likely at home on a home computer with internet access to vote in this poll.
#3 Anonymous on 04/16/11 at 06:32 PM
my only problem with it is no matter if you are approved for free or reduced lunch or not they still require to fill out the form... i have heard that for every form they get even if you are not approved they get some kind of kick back for the program... like extra help or something... i don't fill it out cause i don't agree with what they feed our children and send lunch everyday with my kids
#4 Anonymous on 04/16/11 at 08:25 PM
The only thing that the free lunch program allows is for parents to be able to spend more on their cigarettes and beer. Interesting tidbit of information... the majority of the forms are never verified. You can pretty much write down anything you want for income (and they pretty much tell you how much you are allowed to make in order to qualify). My children pay for their lunch- full price. But when I forget to send a lunch check in I get a note saying that if my balance is not paid, my child will be given an "alternative lunch." We were $7 in the hole and had never made of habit of keeping a balance with the school. My child didn't get an "alternative lunch" but I know for a fact there are children who have had this happen. Would this ever happen to a child who is on the federal lunch program. NO! They also routinely mail out the forms to parents who have not completed them. There is no way my children would qualify based on our incomes (that we work very hard for) so I refuse to fill it out. They push and push because if a certain percentage of students qualify, then the entire system will be given free lunch. Talk about entitlements! You would never be able to take it away. There would be a revolt that the system was trying to starve the children. Another joke is that the schools now have food they can send home on the weekends and at night with children who they think are not getting fed at home. The food consists of items that even a young child could fix for themselves. This is not a case for the school system. It is a case for DFACS. If a child is not getting fed, they need to be taken away from the so-called parents. You know that these parents get food stamps. What are they using them for??? They could easily use them to buy peanut butter, jelly, and bread and pack their own kids lunches. Look at the school menu sometime. There will be at least two days a week (if not more) that kids are given sandwiches anyway.
#5 school pizza on 04/16/11 at 09:28 PM
as a former teacher both here and in macon , i can tell you that on the high school level its mostly a joke. there are a few kids that really do need it but most of the kids that come through the line with their free # also have a cell phone and 100.00 dollar shoes on. then you would see these same kids filling the snack machines up with money an d buying fruitopias, chips, and candy. some kids would even give their # to other kids to come back at another lunch to eat again. most ( not all)of the kids had enough money to buy their lunch but they took the free lunch they felt they were entitled too. i didnt witness any abuse of the program by the school system here in lamar but it was rampant in macon.
#6 TOUGH LOVE on 04/16/11 at 10:46 PM
So whats being said is... if the children were at home everyday instead of school, they would starve because the parents can not afford to feed them ??????????

If this is the case then Family and Childrens Services needs to temporarily place these kids in a home that can provide for them ! I believe a a little tough love would open the eyes of some of these parents and they would find a honest way to see that their children have the things they need . If they don't even try then the kids are better off somewhere else .

I speak from experience . My parents depended on the state and government to provide everything for my brothers and sister and me . My mom chose not to work and my dad spent most of his money on alcohol and gambling . We would have been better off in a home .

I understand every situation is different, but I also feel that people today are to kind hearted when kids are involved . Sometimes you have to do what seems to be the worst thing in the world to get parents to open their eyes and realize they need to prioritize their lives .

Just remember, if your planning on having children, make sure you can put their needs before your own .
#7 Sheila Tolley on 04/17/11 at 10:46 AM
I certainly assume that you people who know these children , LIKE YOU, go and take these children three meals a day on week ends, school vacations, and during the long Summer break.

And I know for sure you have called DFACS to report starving children. You have, right?
#8 Meal ticket on 04/17/11 at 12:10 PM
I'm a single parent of two. I fill out the forms for free or reduced lunch every year because I feel like we qualify for it. But I never get any feed back one way or the other and give my kids money for their lunches every day. I don't give them more than what the lunch costs though because both of them have told me that if they hand the lady taking up the money say a five dollar bill she will not give change giving the excuse that they owe for days she let them slide without paying.
#9 Anonymous on 04/17/11 at 10:54 PM
are you willing to be a foster parent?
#10 cats on 04/18/11 at 12:50 PM
Regardless of my feelings for the free lunch program, I fear that there are children who thru no fault of their own, were dealt a losing hand in the Parent Lottery.
Sure, there are many people who have absolutely no business having children but they do it anyway.
And their children would go hungry if not for this program. These parents don't care. But I do.
So, I can try to fix the things I think are in my power. As for the other things, I can only let go and hope that the system works in some small measure and that some child is getting a meal because of this program.
#11 Anonymous on 04/18/11 at 01:26 PM
Sounds like you need to file a complaint and have this action reviewed. That change is going somewhere and I doubt to buy free lunches.
#12 Anonymous on 04/19/11 at 12:17 AM
And you don't think those Foster parents get a big fat check from the government each month to take care of those kids DFACS takes away? Most of them get several hundred dollars per child per month of yours and my tax dollars to keep the kids DFACS "saves." It takes far fewer tax dollars to feed a kid at school than to feed, clothe, and house them in the Foster system.

I'm a hard working single parent. I work two jobs, and pay taxes on every penny I make and almost everything I own. I don't get a single red cent in government assistance, save for the reduced (not free) meals my children qualify for at school. I could send my kids a PB&J or a cold sack lunch every day, but the school meals are better than that. I wish I could get a better job. I wish I could make more money. But right now my circumstances are what they are. You're saying my kids should be relegated to a PB&J 2 meals a day, or that DFACS should take them away from me because I work a couple of low-paying jobs? Well I'll just leave it at this, I hope the good Lord fells like he owes you just as much kindness and charity as you have shown your fellow man when your time finally comes.
#13 TOUGH LOVE on 04/19/11 at 07:23 PM
You should learn to comprehend what you read before you get your self all worked up ! I don't recall saying anything about taking kids away from any hard working single parent trying to provide for their kids . I congratulate you on working two jobs and having kids .

I'm sure you can afford more than just PB&J for your kids to eat . Think about what you eat through the day everyday . I'll bet its not PB&J every meal . I also bet that your paying for internet service at home and probably have a cell phone . These things are only necessities because advertisements and other people make think you can't live without them .
Well, I'm here to tell you that you can get along just fine without them .
When my child was born I cancelled all of my services ( cell phones, dish network, internet, fast food, etc.) so my wife could stay home with our child .

As for the good LORD, CHRIST the SON, the HOLY GHOST, and my SAVIOR; doesn't owe me anything ! Trusting in HIM, I am saved and blessed through His MERCY and GRACE !
I believe in tithing the money in which I am blessed in church . I would much rather tithe and have prayer over the offering because GOD can stretch a dollar farther than our government any day !
So, I'll leave you with this instead of a selfish remark; I will pray that GOD will bless you and your children. I will pray that GOD will bless your financial situation and that GOD will bless your family great health and any other needs you may have . May the Lord bless you in every step you take ! Just remember, we are not entitled to nothing more than forgiveness and salvation to spend Eternity in Heaven only if we call upon the name of the LORD, confess our sins, and accept CHRIST as our personal SAVIOR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#14 Anonymous on 04/20/11 at 01:07 PM
your kids are not telling you the truth!!woman wake up!
#15 Anonymous on 04/20/11 at 02:42 PM
In what part of your Bible does Jesus say to take kids away from the poor and place them in foster care?
#16 Anonymous on 04/21/11 at 12:03 AM
There have been sooooo many times that I have gotten notes sent home saying that I owed for my childs lunch when most of the time my child doesnt even eat school food, and most of the time I paid ahead, therefore my child should have had credit, not a balance! I think they scam any way they can...or either that's their way of covering for some of those free lunches by over charging the ones that pay, and no I'm not criticizing ANYONE that gets a free lunch!
#17 It's Me on 04/21/11 at 12:08 AM
I ppersonally feel that any family requesting assistance with this program for their children should be approved. Why complain about children getting meals provided while at school? It's one thing that the government has in place that is actually benificial.
#18 TOUGH LOVE on 04/21/11 at 05:03 PM
You need to read the part again where I said, " I understand every situation is different ." I just think this world has gone soft when it comes to the best interest of a child . A lot of kids are in bad situations and I think people tend to look the other way to avoid the removal of a child from the parents .

As for the poor people, they need to get in touch with the past times, and I don't mean the restaurant in downtown Barnesville . My grandparents were dirt poor, but there was always a garden and other foods . They've told me that they never missed a meal or went hungry . People today just have it to easy and all they can do is complain .

My grandmother was a lunchroom manager for 33 years and she said most of the parents lied on the form just to get the free lunches . She knew a lot of these parents personally and said that they could afford it . They just weren't going to pay school taxes and pay for lunches when they could get them free . She has retired but still substitutes as a lunchroom monitor, and she said as of today there is not one child in that school that is not on the free or reduced lunch program . So what does that do for us ? It just allows the state and government to get a little deeper in our pay checks . I don't know about you, but I feel as if I'm already being cheated on my check for a days work after taxes .
#19 Anonymous on 04/24/11 at 09:51 PM
I am definitely NOT on it. Looks like she is wrong.
#20 TOUGH LOVE on 04/25/11 at 07:13 PM
She's not wrong, you or your kids just don't attend the the school she is at !
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