Should public schools provide free meals and free menstrual supplies to students?

[BurnItDwn]

This is such a no brainer. Both should be universal.

Also, the food should be required to be actual food made from fresh ingredients, none of this garbage ultra hyper processed shit full of nothing but sugars and starches.

 

[MrPickins]

I don't think most people arguing against free lunches really understand how much how much the USDA already subsidizes via the National School Lunch Program and their commodity distribution program, and what the full intent and benefits are.

Without saying too much about myself, I've been working in the midst of this field for a decade and a half, with people all the way from the USDA and various state Departments of Ag./Education down to individual school district Foodservice Directors. I've seen exactly how this particular program works. What the Reps and especially rural voters need to know is that these subsidies were originally created for farmers' benefit, and they are still seeing those benefits.

The way this particular program woks is that the USDA does some clever forecasting to come up with an average price for a specified list of food commodities (e.g. chicken, potatoes, cheese) for the upcoming school year. To greatly simplify, this is basically setting a guaranteed price that the US Government will buy up a bunch of that commodity, which they in turn "donate" to states for distribution to the schools. (Now, it gets really complicated in that a lot of the pounds of food actually go to manufacturers for processing first, but that's beyond the scope of the discussion).

The idea is to even out dips in the market that could wipe out farmers in bad years; it's a straight up Farm Subsidy. The secondary benefit is that the schools get free or discounted food for the kids. It's a win-win.

If you can't tell, I'm in favor of expanding the investment in the USDA Foods commodity distribution program. Yes, it has inefficiencies that I've seen personally, but overall it does good things, and, with better messaging, could be a way to convince the Right that feeding the kids is good for everyone, them included.

"Feed the kids and stabilize our family farms!"

 

[hal2kilo]

I don't think most people arguing against free lunches really understand how much how much the USDA already subsidizes via the National School Lunch Program and their commodity distribution program, and what the full intent and benefits are.

Without saying too much about myself, I've been working in the midst of this field for a decade and a half, with people all the way from the USDA and various state Departments of Ag./Education down to individual school district Foodservice Directors. I've seen exactly how this particular program works. What the Reps and especially rural voters need to know is that these subsidies were originally created for farmers' benefit, and they are still seeing those benefits.

The way this particular program woks is that the USDA does some clever forecasting to come up with an average price for a specified list of food commodities (e.g. chicken, potatoes, cheese) for the upcoming school year. To greatly simplify, this is basically setting a guaranteed price that the US Government will buy up a bunch of that commodity, which they in turn "donate" to states for distribution to the schools. (Now, it gets really complicated in that a lot of the pounds of food actually go to manufacturers for processing first, but that's beyond the scope of the discussion).

The idea is to even out dips in the market that could wipe out farmers in bad years; it's a straight up Farm Subsidy. The secondary benefit is that the schools get free or discounted food for the kids. It's a win-win.

If you can't tell, I'm in favor of expanding the investment in the USDA Foods commodity distribution program. Yes, it has inefficiencies that I've seen personally, but overall it does good things, and, with better messaging, could be a way to convince the Right that feeding the kids is good for everyone, them included.

"Feed the kids and stabilize our family farms!"

I has been subsidized since I was in 2nd grade. The School Lunch Program. I'm 70, by the way.

 

[Moonbeam]

By first grade children should be given a school allowance to spend as they wish with options to double the amount by waiting a day, three times by waiting 3 days up to 5 times by Friday. In second grade the time could be extended to two weeks then three until by freshman high school putting off gratification for 4 years would result in a full paid college scholarship. During the 1 to 12 education period children should also be given economics classes and an opportunity to invest their allowances in financial instruments of various kinds.

I think a mix of reward for putting off self gratification for a future goal as well as enjoying the present moment would be a healthy mix.

 

[Moonbeam]

This is such a no brainer. Both should be universal.

Also, the food should be required to be actual food made from fresh ingredients, none of this garbage ultra hyper processed shit full of nothing but sugars and starches.

I just watched Episode 9 The Pied Piper of Extraordinary Attorney Woo on Netflix.

 

[pmv]

I don't profess to be an expert about it, but some studies have shown that access to these products could increase attendance rates at school as students might skip school if they don't have access to menstrual products.

Well, I'm now a bit more up-to-speed on the tampon topic...

Republicans are on the offensive, and ‘Tampon Tim’ Walz is to the rescue | Arwa Mahdawi

Reeling from jokes that they’re ‘weird’, Republicans create a hopeless nickname for Walz after a period product mandate

www.theguardian.com

(also, sounds like the Trump campaign continues to misfire - Biden stepping down is seeming like a better idea with every day that passes....in fact, maybe the fact that he hung on so long wasn't as much of a mark against the Democrats as I at first thought...it leaves that much less time for the Trumpists to adjust to the new situation, and adjusting to change is really not their strong point)

 

[Brainonska511]

At the district level, means testing imposes a substantial burden on the district to verify income, and some people who would be eligible won't submit paperwork for their kid for whatever reason. Nevermind the stigma of kid who gets free lunch vs kid who can pay (since kids can be vicious). Just give out the breakfast and lunch to whichever kids want to take it.

As for menstrual products: same thing - just put them in bathrooms and locker rooms. No need to be the period police. And having them in "in boys" spaces is fine: in some places, for girls sports, the visiting team uses the boys locker room (and I saw this in swimming: the boys visiting locker room when we went to meets was the home team's girls pool locker room), or maybe a friend who is a boy wants/needs to discretely help out their classmate, or their is a transgender student. Just put stuff in every bathroom and the janitors don't even need to think about what to restock: every bathroom gets TP, soap, and menstrual products.

 

[VRAMdemon]

God forbid we provide free feminine hygiene products in school for young girls just entering puberty/menstruation cycles, so they don't bleed all over the fucking classroom or feel uncomfortable in school due to this biological happening that is inevitable. Menstrual products are as necessary as toilet paper, napkins and soap!

Pa. House passes bill to provide free pads and tampons for students • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

House Bill 851 would create a grant program to provide public schools with funding to distribute menstrual hygiene products free to students.

penncapital-star.com

A Republican state lawmaker said Tuesday she opposed a bill that would make pads and tampons free for public school students because it could lead to communism.

Many of today's Republicans really seem to hate that young women go through puberty. They would try pass a bill banning menstruation if they could. I’d bet they would be fine with a law that gave out free bibles in schools or maxi pads with bible passages written on them. These people legitimately don't understand the difference between biology and government. What's next pushing for mandating all students must get their tampons and pads from the school nurse so they can keep track of the girl’s menstruation cycles and who may be pregnant?

If you give a teen a tampon, she going to want to have food too! You give the teen food, she is going to want a tampon. Freaking communists!

Sorry Republicans ... vaginas make you uncomfortable and you don't want teenagers to ever think about one. Even if they have one and need tampons/pads for biological maintenance. "Red Scare" indeed!