The Problem With School Lunch
Last year, about 30 million students nationwide participated in the National School Lunch Program, operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Of those, 20 million received free lunches, 2 million received reduced-price meals and 8 million students paid full price. The school-sanctioned lunch is especially important for low-income families, who often struggle to afford healthy foods.
As kids are heading back to the classroom, many feel a stigma attached to their free or reduced-price lunches. Several incidents of schools shaming children over unpaid lunch bills have made headlines recently, highlighting how the school lunch can be a symbol for the socioeconomic and food disparities that exist in America.
