Hayden

This Post is my personal opinion--which I am entitled too!


Every weekday between 11:30-12:00 you will not find me and the boys at the Park a half block away. This use to be a great time to go to the park right before Carson's nap but now its awkward and frankly makes me angry. Why?

The School District is providing free meals to anyone under the age of 18 through a program funded by the USDA. This is an addition to providing breakfast and lunches to any student who is just willing to go to any of the schools that provide a meal. 6 schools in our district have both meals for free and 2 have a small cost. In addition to this they also serve breakfast at 1 community site, lunch at 10 sites and an afternoon snack at 6 sites. In an article published by the Superior Telegram the Food Service Director is quoted on saying "Helping parents meet the nutritional needs of their children is the strength of this program." Well shouldn't we then be teaching parents what the nutritional needs are? Shouldn't we be spending our tax payer money on something more useful then a bag lunch? Do parents even know what they SHOULD be feeding their children? How hard would it be to educate the children too?
At our site, a woman sits on the park bench for the half hour and gives out the bags and pushes the lunches on to anybody else that is there. Can't she easily go over the food pyramid or hand out nutritional recipe cards? Teach and Preach. Nobody should be given something free, make this a teachable moment. I have seen mothers with their children that I know have jobs as do their spouses getting free lunches for their small(not yet in school) children everyday. This is wrong. Feeding starving children in Milwaukee is different, even feeding those who need it in Superior isn't wrong, but when children start going to the park to eat and not play, that is disturbing. When my child wants to know why he can't have a bag of fruit snacks and every other kid can at the park, what do I tell him?
When did the world become more responsible for my children than me. Isn't my job, my #1 priority to make sure my children are taken care of, feed, bathed and clothed? I know that I do need to have money, by having a job and saving money for the times when I do not work. I work hard on finding nutritional, low cost meals for my family and you know what I am proud of that. Its great to sit down as a family to a home cooked meal that I spent time planning and preparing, it is rewarding. People need to take appropriate actions for their families. If you are a hard working individual and you get laid off and need assistance that is one thing, to take it, use it wisely and be done with it when you return to work. We don't need people milking the system their whole lives and living off me the tax payer.

Note: I am not cold hearted nor do I like to see hungry children, but this isn't not the long term answer. Educating parents how to feed and take care of their children is.