12 upvotes, 4 direct replies (showing 4)
View submission: Monday's School Lunch
Aren't these meals supposed to be for kids with parents that can't afford to make school lunches.
Comment by Shevster13 at 03/02/2025 at 03:21 UTC
26 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Yes and no.
Providing meals is to aid children who would go without. However, studies have shown that such programs work alot better (and cost about the same) when you provide the meals to all students rather than just those that need them.
This is because when you restrict them to just the needy, any family/child accepting the meals is outting themselves as poor. The social stigma that sadly exists about being poor is enough that a lot of students will choose to go hungry, even worse some families will refuse to signup/ will ban their kids from accepting the meals because they care more about how people see them then their kids wealthfare. And for the kids that do take the meals - they often become targets of bullying.
Then add on the cost of the bureaucracy needed to take applications, decide who can and can't get the meals, and manage the system, and in the end you don't save much money. Finally add on all the kids whoes parents could afford to give their kids healthy packed lunches, but for whatever reason (mental illness, working long hours, not understanding food sensitivities, not caring etc).
Or you make it available to all kids, removing the stigma and helping the most students.
Comment by michaeldaph at 03/02/2025 at 03:19 UTC
15 upvotes, 0 direct replies
The point is to avoid stigmatising those children who need to eat,standing in a line obviously marked out as needing their begging bowls filled. Use my taxes, feed ALL the children.Don’t put a target on hungry childrens’backs. Their lives are hard enough. As a former nats voter, this is a line IV’E drawn in the sand.
Comment by Misabi at 03/02/2025 at 03:29 UTC
6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
'We aim to reach the 25% of students in schools and kura that are in most need of support.
The Equity Index is used to work out which schools we need to include to reach these students. Each year the Equity Index is reviewed, and other regional insights are considered to identify new schools and kura to invite into the programme.
Every student at a school | kura in the Ka Ora Ka Ako programme will receive a lunch, every school day.
Comment by Serious_Session7574 at 03/02/2025 at 03:18 UTC
5 upvotes, 0 direct replies
They’re for any child who wants one. Offering them in some means-tested way creates a stigma. It’s probably what ends up happening anyway when the quality is shite and they’re usually late, so those who can afford to provide a packed lunch for their kids and it becomes obvious who can’t.