Free or Reduced lunch ?

[Anonymous]

Hi, I am wondering if someone gets free or reduced lunch in FCPS, is it something that is known or is it kept confidential? Do teachers, secretary, lunch lady etc know who the kids are that are getting this?

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

There is no poster of poor kids in the workroom.

[Anonymous]

No one Cares who has free lunch 🥪

[Anonymous]

I'm a teacher and I used to know exactly who was in which category because I used to have to collect the reduced or the pay full price kids' money for lunch. Plus, there were different lunch card colors for each category (to prevent mix ups so teachers didn't try and collect $$ from kids who weren't supposed to pay).

Now, some schools offer free lunch to everyone or those who do pay, do it electronically (thank god because trying to collect lunch money from 5-6 year olds was a pain in the rear, trying to make change, etc, etc). But, schools still ask families to fill out the free and reduced lunch federal forms and families return those to teachers. So, yes, I see those. Families fill out forms to indicate they need a free coat for the winter. And even if I didn't see them, sometimes I know anyway because it is obvious. Sometimes families are able to weather the storms of poverty better than others and when they really struggle, it is noticeable.
I never ever share with anyone else the info I have unless it is someone in the school who needs to know. The secretaries know, but they know everything about everyone. I'm sure there are some schools where this is a part of salacious gossip, but honestly, not anywhere I've ever worked. People I've known are just there to help.

[Anonymous]

I never know who gets free or reduced lunch.

ES Teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher and I used to know exactly who was in which category because I used to have to collect the reduced or the pay full price kids' money for lunch. Plus, there were different lunch card colors for each category (to prevent mix ups so teachers didn't try and collect $$ from kids who weren't supposed to pay).

Now, some schools offer free lunch to everyone or those who do pay, do it electronically (thank god because trying to collect lunch money from 5-6 year olds was a pain in the rear, trying to make change, etc, etc). But, schools still ask families to fill out the free and reduced lunch federal forms and families return those to teachers. So, yes, I see those. Families fill out forms to indicate they need a free coat for the winter. And even if I didn't see them, sometimes I know anyway because it is obvious. Sometimes families are able to weather the storms of poverty better than others and when they really struggle, it is noticeable.
I never ever share with anyone else the info I have unless it is someone in the school who needs to know. The secretaries know, but they know everything about everyone. I'm sure there are some schools where this is a part of salacious gossip, but honestly, not anywhere I've ever worked. People I've known are just there to help.

I don’t know where you work but this how FCPS does this. This has always been considered to be highly confidential info.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. What about when parents are working or volunteering at the school in some capacity? Would they be able to find out? People seem to gossip too much at our school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never know who gets free or reduced lunch.

ES Teacher

Honestly if you are in FCPS this makes me sad because to me this means that your school is not taking advantage of the Food for Others weekend packets of food delivered to kids every Friday. At my child’s ES, a PTA rep coordinates this, but a volunteer from Food For Others delivers these weekend food bags every week and a group of parents deliver the bags on Fridays to the classrooms. (Only the teacher knows who gets them, and she/he discreetly puts the bags in their backpacks. So if you don’t know who gets free and reduced lunch, then my guess is you don’t have this program that helps supply these families—-about 40 families at our school—with extra food?)
If your school isn’t participating in this free program, please please please take this post to your PTA and ask a volunteer to contact Food For Others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. What about when parents are working or volunteering at the school in some capacity? Would they be able to find out? People seem to gossip too much at our school.

I’m the PP who just posted about Food for Others and no, even the parents who help
out with this program have no idea. And we don’t want to know. We just want to make sure that kids have extra food when they need it.
(Though I’m sure if a kid takes the pouch out of his backpack and waves it around, we could figure it out….but no parent is doing this weekly role in an effort to try to gossip about your family’s circumstance)

[Anonymous]

Everyone punches in their code for lunch. My kids have no idea who is free, reduced, or pay. As a school volunteer, I would have no way of knowing. And no one is judging. The parent volunteers are there to help. That said, it's not hard to tell who is poor, having grown up poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never know who gets free or reduced lunch.

ES Teacher

Honestly if you are in FCPS this makes me sad because to me this means that your school is not taking advantage of the Food for Others weekend packets of food delivered to kids every Friday. At my child’s ES, a PTA rep coordinates this, but a volunteer from Food For Others delivers these weekend food bags every week and a group of parents deliver the bags on Fridays to the classrooms. (Only the teacher knows who gets them, and she/he discreetly puts the bags in their backpacks. So if you don’t know who gets free and reduced lunch, then my guess is you don’t have this program that helps supply these families—-about 40 families at our school—with extra food?)
If your school isn’t participating in this free program, please please please take this post to your PTA and ask a volunteer to contact Food For Others.

I am 100% the school doesn’t participate. This is the first I’ve heard of it. We are a two teacher family and I believe the other ES doesn’t do this either.

[Anonymous]

I used to teach a class that had to collect fees for materials and other things.. generally, families would have to self identify that they should get reduced fees or not have to pay. The family would have a letter that they can show regarding their qualification.

There isn't any kind of list shared by the school or one that is spread around to staff one could gossip about... and no one really cares anyway. Finance techs at the MS at HS level, and guidance offices should have the info, but its not something available to everyone to see freely..

[Anonymous]

MS teacher. I have no clue. I have lunch duty in the cafeteria often and I just make sure they don't shove each other in line or harrass the cafeteria workers. They put whatever on their trays, punch in their codes, and go.

Paperwork is turned directly into the office, so I never see it.

I do have 1 child who gets the weekend food bags, so I know he's on the list, but our school is almost 60% FARMS so all kids on the list don't get weekend bags.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. What about when parents are working or volunteering at the school in some capacity? Would they be able to find out? People seem to gossip too much at our school.

I’m the PP who just posted about Food for Others and no, even the parents who help
out with this program have no idea. And we don’t want to know. We just want to make sure that kids have extra food when they need it.
(Though I’m sure if a kid takes the pouch out of his backpack and waves it around, we could figure it out….but no parent is doing this weekly role in an effort to try to gossip about your family’s circumstance)

Our ES made this obvious: your students know who receives backpack food because the parent volunteers return the backpacks to the class on Friday. My own kids asked me about this (I am a longtime volunteer at a food pantry) when they were in ES. “On Fridays, Mrs. Smith comes into our class to get X, Y and Z backpacks…”

An observation: students receiving free- reduced lunches never have a packed lunch and almost never bring snacks. Teacher provides snacks from classroom stash.

And, fairly quickly the teacher knows what family will be unable to provide school supplies, class party money, pay for field trips, instruments, etc. The counselor or social worker reaches out to the teacher to intervene and be the liaison so parents won’t be continuously asked for all of the above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never know who gets free or reduced lunch.

ES Teacher

Honestly if you are in FCPS this makes me sad because to me this means that your school is not taking advantage of the Food for Others weekend packets of food delivered to kids every Friday. At my child’s ES, a PTA rep coordinates this, but a volunteer from Food For Others delivers these weekend food bags every week and a group of parents deliver the bags on Fridays to the classrooms. (Only the teacher knows who gets them, and she/he discreetly puts the bags in their backpacks. So if you don’t know who gets free and reduced lunch, then my guess is you don’t have this program that helps supply these families—-about 40 families at our school—with extra food?)
If your school isn’t participating in this free program, please please please take this post to your PTA and ask a volunteer to contact Food For Others.

I work in an ES with this program. It’s not nearly as discrete as you think. I’ve had kids pull it out of their backpack to get a snack or complain loudly about the food in the bag; plus they need to return the bag for refilling on Mondays, so students see that. We also have more families that need the food than the program can support, so I have kids ask me when they can get off the waitlist in front of their classmates. So… not discrete.