Cheese Sandwhich of Shame for kids of deadbeat parents

I honest to God believe that this is a spectacular idea. Who better to entice parents to pay for these debts than the kids themselves who have nothing better to do then spend an evening whining and complaining about that horrible sandwich they had to eat?

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I wrote a blog entry about this yesterday because the whole idea that parents were outraged was driving me CRAZY! I have no problem with schools doing this -- it's either this or cut other programs. In the end, the kids are still being fed, no thanks to the parents.
If I read the article correctly, it doesn't affect children who are from low-income families who are eligible for free meals. So, what's the problem? Parents who have the money to pay should either do so or send their children to school with a sack lunch.

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When I was a kid, if you didn't have lunch money, you didn't get lunch! At least these kids are getting a sandwich, even if it is a somewhat boring one (although, personally, I think cheese sandwiches are delicious!).

If parents don't want their children "tasked with reminding [them] to pay" their bills, maybe they ought to consider, oh, I dunno, PAYING THEIR BILLS? Like, on time? Radical concept, I know!

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I was the child in this picture my dad was a single parent of to and my mom refused to pay child support so many times I had to have the alternate meal pb&j I was horrified in front of my whole class and a few others it put the poor label on the kids not the parents

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It may hurt a little now, but think of the lesson it's actually teaching the kids. "If mom and dad don't pay the bill, I don't get to eat!" I think that's a pretty important lesson, don't you?

Think about it - parents, in general, that don't pay that type of bill (so their kid can EAT LUNCH, for pete's sake) probably don't have the best money-management skills. So the kid probably won't be taught how to handle money properly.

I'd say not getting to eat because the bill hasn't been paid is fairly effective. Sort of like sitting in the dark because you didn't pay the electric bill because you squandered the money elsewhere.

(Keep in mind that the "cheese sandwich" doesn't apply to kids on free/reduced lunch programs.)

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What the hell is wrong with cheese sandwiches? Am I missing something?!

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I think that it is a good plan but like all plans, has it's downfalls. We have in our State the School Passport program, where we can load money into our child's account and he just uses a card at school. The problem is that they do not regulate it. We loaded our card with enough money to last until the end of the school year, but then we got a paper sent home that he was over drawn. I was quite shocked, so I went on to find out that he had been buying breakfast every day for quite some time. He ate a good sized breakfast at home everyday too. I had to call and tell the lunch lady that he was to no longer eat breakfast. I told her that he ate at home. She said that they are not allowed to refuse food. I told her that he is now taking his lunch and that I would not pay any additional charges and that I would send him with cash if I intended for him to eat. I was rather shocked. I understand not refusing to feed them, but where does the line end?? I am talking about 25 dollars worth of breakfast. He did his fair share of chores to repay the money he had used, and was not happy about taking his lunch after that. Right after it happened my husband threatened to make him eat that cheese sandwich as his punishment, but I did not think that was what the program was there for. However, the idea made him think twice about his behavior.

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Wow, at least they feed the kid something. At my son's school you can't run up a bill at all.

If a kid doesn't have any lunch credits or forgets their lunch at home they get a granola bar and a milk. It gives them enough to make it thru to the end of the day, but doesn't run up a big bill for the school that needs to be spent on classroom instruction.

It only took my son forgetting his lunch one time to make sure he never let it happen again.

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I am a teacher at a school in Missouri and we have a similar policy that when the bill hits $10 the kids receive a "sack lunch" and it includes a peanut butter sandwich. Not to bad......but I know it is kind of humilating for the kids to go through the line and get handed a sack lunch instead of a tray. I feel bad as in my class this past year I had many kids that the parents just didn't care, and I would end up paying some on their account to keep them under $10 so they didn't have to get a sack lunch. I had another student who would bring his own lunch just so his classmates wouldn't know he owed a lunch bill, and his lunch was not full of nutrients to say the least....it consisted of a can of pringles and some sweet item such as a ho-ho or something similar. So as a teacher I am torn on the issue because I see how the kids feel at school when it is time for lunch but I also see the need for it as well so we don't have to cut back in other areas.

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Sounds like they are giving the kid a nutritional lunch, and their experience is no worse than that of a child who brings a sack lunch from home. That's what I used to get - a pbj or balogna sandwich - those were my only choices. And my parents had to pay for it and actually take the time to prepare it. I don't see the problem here.

The biggest source of unhappiness in this country is not real lack. It's the belief that you're lacking because someone is telling you that you should feel that way.

A cheese sandwich on wheat bread is more than the majority of kids on this earth get for lunch. They ought to be happy to receive it. And they ought to be ashamed to complain about it.

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