The price of lunch

One student exclaimed “That’s my life every day.” This was in response to the humiliation of a student that cannot afford lunch every day. At some schools the students are denied lunch because of the insufficient money in their account. There are schools in Connecticut that offer free lunches to all of the students, according to Kate Murphy district manager of Sedexo lunch in naugatuck.  Why shouldn’t all schools be like this? Why can’t all of the school offer free lunches so there’s no student that goes hungry?

When Kate Murphy, head of the Sedexo lunch in Naugatuck, was asked if more students should be able to qualify for free lunches, she responded  “I’d love to see everybody get free lunches.”

Schools in Waterbury, Connecticut are now offering free school lunches to all students because of the low income rate and the number of families receiving state aid. The reason other schools are not like that is because of the lack of people needing assistance from the state, Murphy explained during her interview. Regardless of this, students are still going hungry in many schools.

According to Murphy school lunches are worth more than they are sold for at Naugatuck High school. Murphy explained how the fruit sold is about 50 cents and the school lunches are $2.50. So in the end after the meal and the sides it adds up to more than $2.50 and the state will only reimburse each lunch by 40 cents.When students are given free lunches the USDA will give the school $1.20 for each lunch.It’s not the schools that decide to give the students free lunches it’s the USDA’s decision.

A possible solution for kids in school who are deprived of lunch and go hungry through the days is to offer free lunches to all of the children or make it easier for their families to qualify for free or reduced lunches.