HEART OF STEELE
You wouldn’t think the topics of feeding children and lifting barriers to education would generate much controversy, but this is the 21st century–almost everything does.
Minnesota lawmakers looked over the past week at two bills tied to our schools: universal free lunch and providing pads and tampons in school bathrooms. And there are people opposed to both those programs.
While schools have long provided free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch, HF5 would lift income restrictions, by requiring schools to become part of Community Eligibility. Schools would be reimbursed using a formula that’s based on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) standards.
A St. Paul teacher who testified before the House Education Policy committee later said that among the arguments she heard against free lunches was the fear that rich kids would take advantage of the program.
Here’s the problem: Hunger doesn’t recognize income.
Rich kids can become poor kids in the blink of an eye. A divorce, a death, a job loss, medical bills, can quickly drain family resources.
While percentages vary a bit, several recent surveys report 50-60% of Americans say they’re living “paycheck to paycheck”, with little or no savings. Credit card usage across the country increased 7% last year, and experts say that’s because of inflation.
I don’t worry about “rich” kids getting a free burger or slice of pizza at school.
I worry about the kids whose hidden hunger keeps them from learning well.
For young girls, another hidden problem can interfere with their education. Providing menstrual products in schools has become a national conversation, and it should be.
There are nonprofits set up to provide period kits designed to young women around the world. But “period poverty” is an issue in Minnesota, too. Rep. Sandra Feist of New Brighton said she began lobbying for HF44 after a high school student told her classmates were skipping school because they didn’t have an adequate supply of tampons or pads.
These bills both recognize that we live in a different world today, that a pandemic and inflation still impact our children’s lives.
I hope that our state lawmakers find it in their hearts to make it easier for them to learn and grow.