#free school lunches

[odinsblog]

The article is a bit too snarky for my taste, but the point it makes is that when Republicans, under Ronald Reagan, began their decades long campaign against providing free school lunches and supplemental food aid programs, it had profound and predictable effects: it negatively impacted people without access to nutritional foods and healthy food alternatives, and the health + the height of America has has suffered ever since.

Countries with affordable or universal healthcare, that prioritize the health of mothers, children and that do not use food punitively, have healthier and taller citizens.

👉🏿 https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/story/opinion/2023/12/21/tim-rowland-column-blame-reagan-for-shrinking-americans/71975570007/

#politics #republicans #ronald reagan #reaganism #healthcare #food deprivation #republicans are evil #conservatism #neoliberalism #school lunches #free school lunches #height #height difference

[mysharona1987]

Charlotte be all:

#Jamie oliver #politics #london #tories #food #free school lunches #Twitter #chefs

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

#us politics #twitter #tweet #2023 #rep. summer lee #pro life #pro lifers #pro lifers be like #ar 15 #gun violence #gun control #gun rights #school shootings #free school lunches #impoverished children #universal free school meals #infrastructure reform

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

North Dakota Republicans be like:

Ten days after narrowly defeating a bill to provide free school lunches to low-income K-12 students, the North Dakota Senate approved legislation to increase the amount of money lawmakers and other state employees receive in meal reimbursements.

A leading Republican senator says employee meal compensation rates and free school lunch programs aren't related issues, but top Democrats see the chamber’s conflicting actions on the two bills as unjustifiable.

“I thought today’s vote was very self-serving,” said Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo. “How can we vote for ourselves when we can’t vote for children?”

The Republican-dominated Senate in late March rejected House Bill 1491 by a single vote. The legislation, which had previously passed the House, would have dedicated $6 million over the next two school years to cover lunch costs for K-12 students with family incomes below double the federal poverty level. Children from families of four making less than $60,000 a year would have qualified.

A federal program already provides free meals to students from families making below 130% of the federal poverty level, so the state allocation nixed by senators would have applied to kids with family incomes between 130-200% of the poverty level.

The Senate voted 26-21 on Thursday, April 6, to pass Senate Bill 2124, which would raise the meal reimbursements received by state employees during travel within North Dakota. Lawmakers attending interim legislative meetings are eligible for the payments, but they do not receive meal reimbursements during biennial sessions.

If Gov. Doug Burgum signs the bill, state employees could collect up to $45 a day to pay for breakfast, lunch and dinner. That’s a hike of nearly 29% on the current reimbursement rate of $35. The added cost to the state would be nearly $1 million over the next two-year budget cycle.

Thirteen Republican senators, including Majority Leader David Hogue and Assistant Majority Leader Jerry Klein, voted to increase meal reimbursements after voting against the free school lunch bill.

Hogue declined to comment on the reason he voted for Senate Bill 2124 and against House Bill 1491. He said North Dakota lawmakers often are asked to devote state funds to expand federal programs, like the National School Lunch Program or Medicaid.

“I don’t have a good answer for you as (to) why we do it sometimes and not others,” Hogue said.

Klein said he doesn’t think there’s “any correlation whatsoever” between the two bills, noting that lawmakers have to “treat each issue separately.”

State employees should get a higher per diem because inflation has made eating out much more expensive, he noted.

Klein said there is still money available and time left before lawmakers leave Bismarck to approve funding for school lunches. Last week, the House added the $6 million for free school lunches into a separate bill that has not yet returned to the Senate.

The other Republican senators who voted for Senate Bill 2124 and against House Bill 1491 are Randy Burckhard, David Clemens, Bob Erbele, Judy Estenson, Curt Kreun, Judy Lee, Randy Lemm, Larry Luick, Don Schaible, Terry Wanzek and Mike Wobbema.

Hogan said she was shocked and disappointed by Thursday’s vote. She dismissed Klein’s suggestion that the two bills are unrelated, noting that they would both spend taxpayer money to cover meals for North Dakotans.

The Senate’s inconsistent actions on the two bills will confuse the public and hurt the chamber’s credibility, Hogan said.

“There’s no underlying consistent philosophy to how we’re spending money in this session, and this is a classic example of it,” Hogan said.

Assistant House Minority Leader Zac Ista, a Grand Forks Democrat at the forefront of the push for free school lunches, said the Legislature should be looking to support both students and state employees.

“I think it shows (the Senate’s) priorities are a little out of whack when they have no problem increasing the meal reimbursement rate for ourselves but not for those families that may be struggling to make ends meet,” Ista said.

#us politics #news #inforum #2023 #north dakota #North Dakota Republicans #republicans #conservatives #gop #gop policy #gop platform #republican family values #free school lunches #meal reimbursements #North Dakota Senate #Kathy Hogan #House Bill 1491 #Senate Bill 2124 #Gov. Doug Burgum #David Hogue #Jerry Klein #National School Lunch Program #Zac Ista #memes #cruelty is the point

[onlytiktoks]

#tiktok #tw food #free school lunches #school lunch #roseville #Minnesota

[cathnews]

Free lunches and benefit boosts, but our kids are still living in poverty

Free lunches and benefit boosts, but our kids are still living in poverty

When my son was at intermediate school, he would often ask for two or three extra sandwiches. I didn’t think much of it: ‘He’s a hungry, growing boy,’ was probably the first thing that came to mind. But I never said no. It wasn’t until several months and dozens of ham, egg and mayo sandwiches later, I found out – by chance – that he had been feeding a schoolmate, too. My initial reaction was…

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#Child Poverty #Free school lunches #Poverty

[spaceshipsandpurpledrank]

#talkin #tik tok #school lunch #free lunch #lunch debt #school lunch reform #i hate this country #education #education reform

[socialjusticeinamerica]

Why do children have school lunch debt? Republicans are monsters and red states are hell on earth.

Free school lunches for all, NOW!

#food insecurity #child hunger #school lunch debt #Arby’s donation #free school lunches now #poverty #republican family values

[mygoodfriendjohnathanharker]

Fixed the door that Johnathan had slipped through, not letting that happen again!

#dracula daily #dracula #re: dracula #may 18th #it's going to be all ooc after this tag on this post so feel free to ignore as i babble on about graduation and breathy mention mental heal #i graduated high school yesterday #which feels completely wild because their was a point in my life where i thought i wouldn't ever see it due to some mental health stuff #it just feels so serial to be here and be getting ready for college come fall #dracula daily has been with me for most of highschool #i first entered the fandom just after my sophomore year when i made my first tumblr account #i read it every day during lunch junior year when i had no friends with the same lunch hour #it's meant a lot to me and will always be connected to a certain time in my life #highschool wasn't great but i had some amazing teachers and made friends i hope to keep for the rest of my life #thank you too all of you lovely dracula people for making me smile all these years #i'm excited to keep reading and making silly jokes as i head into the world

[floydsteeth]

LITERALLY WHERE ARE ANY OF MY FRIENDS:(((

#Today at school there's like an event going on all day #Cause school spirit and the years coming to a close yea #So we meet up in the morning plan what we're gonna do #AND THEN SUDDENLY I CANT FIND ANYONE #THEY ALL JUST DISAPPEARED AFTER HOMEROOM #I'm sad #Like #I hate this day #And only came here to hang out #And the free lunch #Also dunktank cause getting to dunk teachers is worth it #BUT UUUUGGGHHH #WHERE ARE THEY #me sad #And lonely #And overwhelmed #I just #Pppfffhehehejabdjskabsisksn :((( #Can't find somewhere quiet here #Need someone to talk to #And ludi hasn't responding anymore

[odinsblog]

Republican Family Values: No to healthcare + No to education + No to food for children 🙃

#politics #florida #republicans #ron desantis #republicans are evil #religious reich #healthcare #housing #food insecurity #school lunch #school lunch programs #free school lunches #the cruelty is the point

[mysharona1987]

#News #politics #democrats #republicans #scotus #universal healthcare #bernie sanders #us government #schools #free school meals #lunch #kentucky #reproductive rights #twitter #Alabama

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

#us politics #news #twitter #tweet #gov. tim walz #Minnesota #food insecurity #feed the poor #Democrats #gov. sarah huckabee sanders #arkansas #child labor #child labor laws #free school meals #free school lunches #2023 #more perfect union #john iadarola #tyt #the young turks

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The Minnesota House voted 70-58 along party lines Thursday to spend around $200 million a year making school breakfasts and lunches available to all students at no cost.

Debate over universal school meals has inverted the usual partisan talking points, with Republicans in this case railing against what they call a taxpayer-funded giveaway to the rich.

More than one-third of Minnesota public school students already get free school meals because of their low family income or high poverty rates in their schools. The DFL-led legislation would offer free meals, regardless of income, to every student at schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program, including private schools.

“Why are we feeding kids in Edina or rich areas that do not need this extra funding? We are pushing tax dollars where they are not needed,” said Rep. Pam Altendorf, R-Red Wing.

Republican lawmakers tried but failed to amend the bill Thursday by somewhat expanding eligibility for free school meals – to 250% of the federal poverty level, up from 185% – without making them free for all students.

“We do need to feed our children, but we have to do this in a reasonable, fiscally responsible way,” said Rep. Krista Knudsen, R-Lake Shore.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis, said one-quarter of hungry kids in Minnesota don’t qualify for free school meals under the federal income guidelines. She waved off concerns about funding meals for families that can afford to pay.

“We give every kid in our school a desk. There are lots of kids out there that can afford to buy a desk, but they get a desk because they go to school,” she said.

One hangup for school leaders is the impact that universal school meals might have on the collection of meal-subsidy application forms, which determine how much extra money schools get for a variety of programs.

“I’ve had countless conversations with my administrative colleagues, and they don’t want this,” said Rep. Ben Bakeberg, R-Jordan, a middle school principal.

Another bill, which was introduced Thursday, aims to address that concern by replacing those forms with other methods of assessing concentrations of poverty.

“This is something that we’re very much aware of and working with right now,” said Rep. Laurie Pryor, DFL-Minnetonka.

Congress provided free school meals to all students for two school years during the coronavirus pandemic, but that funding stopped last year. Five states are picking up the food bill for their students this school year, and two of them are doing so permanently; a third, Colorado, will join them next year after voters approved a ballot measure.

Gov. Tim Walz supports making Minnesota the fourth state to permanently provide universal school meals. A companion bill awaits action by the finance committee in the DFL-controlled Senate, where the sponsors include Assistant Minority Leader Zach Duckworth, R-Lakeville.

#us politics #news #St. Paul Pioneer Press #Minnesota #2023 #Minnesota house of representatives #universal school meals #free school lunches #National School Lunch Program #Pam Altendorf #Krista Knudsen #Sydney Jordan #impoverished children #Zach Duckworth #Gov. Tim Walz #Minnesota senate

[drumlincountry]

to remember:

Most effective social change comes not from paying passing awareness to all social issues, but from working with deep, sustained focus on a specific social issue.

You don't have to ignore everything that isn't your area. But you don't have to fight every fight with equal energy. limit guilt.

"Only when large numbers of people demand everything immediately do we ever get anything  eventually." Cleve Jones

"I'm not saying we'll live to see some sort of paradise. But just fighting for change makes you stronger. Not hoping for anything will kill you for sure." Leslie Feinburg

People need to eat.

You are people.

#Me Fein #It's hard!!!! #When in one job ur attempting to facilitate teenagers to stop being sexist. #And in another job you're materially supporting refugees #And you're in a union trying to oragnise to address an issue that is a MAJOR neon*zi organising point locally #And the CEO of a local climate action NGO keeps inviting you for free lunches but she's not like. Hiring you. #And one of your coworkers is trying to found a Democratic school (!!!!!!) #Which you like. Would be qualified to work at. 👀👀 #But also. A fucking steady paycheck wouldn't go amiss. #How to be human #I want to fix everything!! I can't fix everything!!!! #I want to chill out!! Can't do that either!

[shivrcys]

Damn I didn't realise that sushi was woke apparently. Even foods aren't safe now.

#david seymour wants sushi taken off of free school lunches for being a 'woke food' you can't make this shit up #nzpol