Persuasive Essay On Free Meal Programs For Children

Free Meal Programs for Children

At the beginning of the school year last year, one of my friends Nicole got a call from her child upset about an incident that happened at school that day. He had gotten lunch at school and when he got to the cashier, she told him he didn’t have enough money on his school account to pay for it. The lady in the cafeteria took his lunch from him and threw it away. He was really upset because she embarrassed him in front of his friends and classmates by taking the lunch away from him. THEY JUST THREW IT IN THE TRASH! Sara went to the school the next day and spoke to the principal. He told her he would talk to the cafeteria staff, and assured her this wouldn’t happen again. I told her I remembered seeing something

I would be delighted to know that my child would no longer have to be separated out to say this one’s free and this one’s not. To me that embarrassment is gone.”(Rockingham Now)

According to No kid hungry, better fed students are higher achievers. Students who consistently eat breakfast score more than seventeen percent higher on math test and twenty percent are more likely to graduate. They also attend one and a half more days of school per year. I think this program is wonderful and wish this was in place when I was in school or when my kids were in school. Not having to worry about having cash for lunch money or sometimes forgetting to leave money for them.

Another program that is offered through the schools is the backpack program. “One in four children in North Carolina is “food insecure”” Said Daisy Rodriquez, Director of Childhood Programs at Second Harvest Food Bank, when speaking to the Caswell County Board of Education about a backpack program through her agency. (Caswell Messenger) Rodriquez also told the Board:

“We have ninety six backpack programs throughout our service area and collectively we are feeding over fifty five hundred children every week.” (Caswell

(Food Bank of CENC) Kids Summer Meals (also known as the Summer Food Service Program) is another United States Department of Agriculture program that ensures children still receive meals during the school vacations. The food banks and Feeding America sponsor this program in thirty four counties in North Carolina. 2014 is the sixth year the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina has been a sponsor for this program.( Food Bank of CENC) These meals are provided to children eighteen and under in low income areas where fifty percent or more of the children are eligible for free or reduce school meals. The program runs from May to September for traditional school calendars and during school vacations of fifteen days or more. The meals are served at a variety of locations; schools, churches, community centers, housing projects, parks, even community pools, and any other sites where kids gather. The sites usually serve 2 meals: breakfast and lunch, they even do some physical activities with the children. (Food Bank of CENC, USDA