SCHOOL LUNCH DEBT +
As with so many other government programs, school lunch programs don’t make sense. The programs start with a well-intentioned thought: “Kids who eat lunch do better in school.” (That thought assumes that kids who eat lunch do WELL in school. More than one local district has below 50% who are competent in math, science, and/or English, but they all get lunch.) But they don’t stop there. They go on to “We can’t allow parents to pack a lunch because that might have too much sugar, meat, or crispy rice.” Then agencies add, “What about kids growing up in poverty, or with parents who don’t care?”
Suddenly, the school lunch program has taken over the parental task of feeding their own children. Believe me, it doesn’t even stop there! They have to replace a bologna sandwich with kale salad. What child eats kale? Even I don’t eat kale if there is ANYTHING else available!
In comes a Do-Gooder: “I Randomly Decided To Pay Off A School’s Lunch Debt. Then Something Incredible Happened” by DJ Bracken, August 23, 2025
DJ started studying families who had accrued a school lunch debt and found out it was millions of dollars in the state of Utah alone. Next the writer began a program of paying of the debt off on a school by school basis. No where along the process did the author report he or she had a single thought as to WHY parents weren’t paying their child’s school lunch debt.
What about – they were given no options? Schools in some states don’t even give the parents an option of allowing a packed lunch vs “school board gotta’ take charge of this” mentality.
What about – parents (and kids) don’t like the foods offered? What! No caviar? No biscuits and gravy? No “Honeysuckle Ham?” No jelly doughnuts? I have to eat eggplant? I don’t like bland apple slices?
What about – after all the taxes imposed on middle income families, there isn’t much left for school lunch programs? After all, there have to be actual reasons people don’t pay. Maybe we should address the CAUSES of school lunch debts instead of merely trying to pay them off. Just like the student loan debacle, we don’t address the root causes of failure to pay. Thus, we continue the problem, and continue the problem. Thankfully (although many in the press don’t get it) Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill DID address one of the issues with student loans … too much money is available … and it set some caps. As a result many students will exit college with smaller debts. Maybe we could look at this issue with school lunch debts and come up with a couple simple solutions to END the problem.
We know that impoverished families receive FREE lunches, and even some middle-income families qualify for reduced lunch prices, so they are not the ones who owe for school lunches. Thus, the Do-Gooder is paying lunch debts for whom? … middle and upper-income families! Oopsie!!!
Hey! I have an idea! No student loans until your lunch debt is paid! Best of all, why don’t we make a free “no-kale lunch” for those on the honor roll!
FREE EXTRA STUFF …
I was reading a book by a psychology researcher from 30 years ago. His big deal was how to make yourself lose your depression by becoming a positive person. I don’t know how the story ends (I haven’t skipped to the last chapter). However he made an interesting observation based on thorough research…
He said that depressed/pessimistic subjects reported the facts more accurately than optimistic subjects. In one study every subject was given 40 opportunities to “win.” The test made it only possible to “win” 20 of 40 times, no matter how intelligent or careful the subject was, or alternately, no matter how dull or lazy the subject was. He said, when asked “How do you think you did?” the optimists claimed they “won” 28 times and “lost” 12 times (they all won only 20 times).
When pessimists were asked “How do you think you did?” They reported correctly that they “won” only half the time.
Pessimists see the world “as it is.” Optimists see the world “as they want it to be.”
If you are running a business you want your treasurer to be a pessimist and your salesmen to be optimists. Having only optimists leads to bankruptcy. Having only pessimists leads to mediocre results.
Next time a pessimist says, “The sky is falling,” maybe you should look up.
Next time an optimists says, “Everything is fine,” maybe you should look up.
Copyright 2025 Donald Whelpley
[PLEASE NOTE that Don is always open to discussing the thoughts and opinions he shares here and welcomes comments as shared in the comment section. He doesn’t use other social media platforms and won’t see whatever you’d like to share with him if you post it elsewhere.
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