Reply to Who in the school knows which students are on the free lunch program?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]About 90% of the children at the school where I teach are FARMS.  So, we pretty much all know. [/quote]

Holy cow. Where the hell is this?[/quote]

There are several local schools with this FARMs rate.  Why so surprised?[/quote]

Because that's an incredible (and unfair) burden on the taxpayers.[/quote]

Oh absolutely. It's an unfair burden on the taxpayers to subsidize the lunches of children in poor neighborhoods. Because it's not like proper nutrition is linked to better academic performance or anything.[/quote]

For families that qualify for food stamps, are the free lunches and breakfasts taken into consideration when determining the amount they are eligible for?   So would the family get more money (in food stamps) during summer months?

[/quote]

My experience, as a child who received reduced price lunches during elementary school 20 years ago, no, the free lunch award is separate from the food stamps award. Summers were hard for our family, with 2 kids eating 5 extra meals per week.

In case PP is asking because they feel that SNAP benefits should be reduced because their children get free lunch at school, please consider the amount of the award ($668 per month for a family of 4) and then consider how much you personally spend on food per month. We try to keep our grocery budget to $125/week for a family of 2 adults and one school age child who brings her lunch to school every day. That's about $18 a day for meals, or about $6 per meal for all family members (so $2 per person per meal). It's really, really hard.[/quote]

I'm the PP who asked, and also the OP.  We are going through a hard situation right now, and DO qualify for both food stamps and free lunches.   We have applied for the free lunches, but not food stamps.   My children are embarrassed to take the free lunches, which is why I asked the original question.

We have a family larger than 6 people, so I suppose we would qualify for more than $668/month in food stamps...plus the free meals at school?   Honestly, if I decide to apply we will be eating like KINGS, compared to our regular grocery budget![/quote]

OP, thanks for responding. I'm the PP you're responding to. You can find the eligibility (and the award amounts) here: http://dhs.dc.gov/service/snap-eligibility

I'm also the PP who was embarrassed to take the free lunches as a kid, and I am so sorry your family is going through this. Might be worth a conversation with your kids' school(s) to see what the process is. I'm certain that things have evolved past the "raffle tickets" approach my elementary school had.

Also, for what it's worth, at my daughter's school, breakfast is free for everyone. You can eat it or not. No one has tickets. No one gets billed for it. My understanding is that this is common at most elementary schools.

Wishing you all the best.[/quote]

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