Lunch shaming

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Lunch shaming is a general term referring to when a student is singled out and embarrassed or shamed due to them or their parents not being able to pay for school lunches, or if they have any unpaid lunch debt. Lunch shaming can involve having a marker, like a stamp or wristband, indicating that the child cannot afford a school lunch due to debt or a lack of money, or it can involve being served less expensive cold lunches as opposed to hot lunches. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Lunch shaming is often blamed on the limited meal budgets public schools have to work with in the United States, which would lead many schools to pursue any outstanding debt in order to recoup costs. [5] [2] [6] [4] According to attorney Jessica Webster, "This is a financial transaction between school district and a parent. Kids shouldn't be placed in the middle or ever fear being turned away from the lunch counter." [7]

History

Advocacy against "lunch shaming" first emerged in Minnesota. Beginning in 2008, staff attorney Jessica Webster of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid documented widespread practices of tray dumping, hand stamping, and meal denial in the state's school districts. [8] In 2013, Webster and Samuel Chu of the national anti-hunger group MAZON testified at the Minnesota Legislature in support of legislation to guarantee meals for all children regardless of debt. [9]

Governor Mark Dayton signed the resulting "School Lunch Aid Act" in 2014, prohibiting schools from demeaning or stigmatizing children for unpaid lunch balances. [10] Minnesota's action is regarded as the first state law addressing lunch shaming, preceding wider national media coverage of the issue beginning in 2015 and subsequent legislation in New Mexico and other states. [11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wolf, Zachary B. (May 12, 2019). "The government already knows how to end school lunch shaming". CNN. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Nosowitz, Dan (April 25, 2019). "Law Seeks to Ban School Lunch Shaming". Modern Farmer. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  3. ↑ Lee, Morgan (July 5, 2017). "U.S. schools rethink 'lunch shaming' policies that humiliate children with meal debts". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Choi, Candice (April 27, 2021). "How 'lunch shaming' is facing scrutiny around the US". Associated Press . Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  5. ↑ Siegel, Bettina Elias (April 7, 2017). "New Mexico Outlaws School 'Lunch Shaming'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  6. ↑ Moreau, William Tim; Pilcher, Jessamine Gail (February 1, 2018). "The Incentives Behind Lunch Shaming". American Bar Association . Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  7. ↑ "School Lunch Shaming Continues in Minnesota". Hunger Solutions. November 21, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Making School Lunch Shaming a Thing of the Past". Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. November 13, 2019.
  9. ↑ "At the Capitol, a clash over whether kids should go hungry in school". MinnPost. March 19, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Dayton signs bill ensuring Minnesota students get lunch regardless of ability to pay". MPR News. April 3, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Lawmakers target 'lunch shaming'". MPR News. March 31, 2017.
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