Cheese Sandwiches Are Cruel: or, There is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

A school district in New Mexico is doling out cruel punishment. Some kids have to eat a cold cheese sandwich!

A cold cheese sandwich, fruit and a milk carton might not seem like much of a meal...

Not much of a meal? This is what one of my kids wants to eat every day. And by "every day" I mean 4 or 5 days a week. In fact, we're lucky if we can get him to eat the fruit. The whole family eats sandwiches most days for lunch.

Critics argue the cold meals are a form of punishment...

What kind of people are these critics? I took a sandwich to school for lunch for most of my life. My kids eat sandwiches most everyday of their lives. Because that's what they want.

Second-grader ... said she will never eat sliced cheese again.

Well I don't want to either, really. Can't blame her. Besides, she will be healthier for it.

...and more children in the lunch program means more federal dollars for the district.

Do I need to say anything here?

"Some parents don't have even $1 sometimes," the 27-year-old single mother said. "If they do, it's for something else, like milk at home."

I know this is true, and it's sad, and it's why I had to take sandwiches when I was in middle school, but is it the public school's responsibility to feed the kids a hot meal? If you can't pay, you don't complain about the free stuff you get, you take it with gratitude. Of course I don't like kids being singled out and having their little psyches damaged. But there is nothing wrong with a sandwich for lunch! Good grief!

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Public Education, Public Schools, Parents, Parenting, Home School, Homeschooling,