What happened to sack lunches?

In the March 4 issue of the American News, there was an article that particularly caught my attention: “Hungry at school – and no money for lunch.” Being reminded of my middle school days, I began to wonder what happened to sack lunches?

In middle school and throughout high school I packed my lunch. It was a cheap and effective way to make sure I could eat what I wanted. In this article not once was bringing one’s own food to school an option. I understand, as many people do, that times can be tough and keeping up with bills is getting harder and harder. If a parent is not able to provide for their children’s lunch at school, then apply for the reduced costs. There is no shame in that.

When I was in middle school, lunch cost about $3 a day, roughly $15 a week. For $15, parents could easily run to the grocery store to buy some food to pack for their kid each week. There’s nothing wrong with bringing sack lunches, and in the long run, it’s cheaper.

I think that the Martin family’s “No Tummy Left Behind” program is something new and beneficial to an extent. The account, being filled with donations, will inevitably run dry. Students who regularly have no problem purchasing lunch may find themselves dipping in to this account, which in return is saying to the students it is OK to forget your money, there is no worry about if they will eat because they will have this account to pay for their irresponsibility.

Having middle and high school students remind their parents of their lunch account balances teaches responsibility, Susan Nash said in the article. When the students have a free backup account, the likeliness to ask their parents for lunch money, probably won’t be a top priority anymore.

Overall, the Martin’s program could work very successfully, but may take a lot of fine tuning.

Caylin Darling

Aberdeen