Lunch shaming is a longstanding problem for kids and schools across the country, and it’s high time we stamped it out.
Several schools have gained national media attention when they refused to serve students with depleted lunch account funds — a practice widely known as lunch shaming. While there have been several attempts to ban lunch shaming in Colorado, it remains a complicated issue as student lunch debt rises.
Cold Lunches
Students that come to school hungry because of insufficient food at home struggle to reach their full potential in the classroom. Access to a nutritious lunch (and breakfast) is a fundamental need for children. This is especially important as national lunch programs cover students from families who struggle to afford food, which amounts to over 6.5 million households in the U.S. The federal government pays the $3.30 cost (of the lunch) for those who earn below 130 percent of the poverty line and a reduced price for those below 185 percent.
Students who fail to pay their lunch debt reportedly receive separate meals which include sandwiches or jelly, as opposed to those who have lunch balances and received a hot meal. Some are forced to wear wristbands or stamps to warn their parents to pick up their lunch tabs.
Long-term Consequences
The way these reminders are implemented negatively impacts kids’ mental and social well-being, as well as academic performance. In an interview with The Penny Hoarder, Florida child psychologist James Pratt explains that lunch shaming can have long-term consequences and affect the future behavior of a child. Pratt notes that it gets worse as you get to middle and high school students who are often the victims of these practices.
Rebecca Rialon Berry, NYU Langone Health child psychologist, notes that a cold sandwich is the definition of powerlessness, as kids “judge each other by how they look or what they have.” This exacerbates the stigma, embarrassment and shame of coming from a food-insecure household.
In their media release for the key legislation that banned lunch shaming in their districts, California Governor Gavin Newsom notes that children who experience lunch shaming have a higher chance of getting bullied by their peers. So while unintended, these practices result in actions beyond a nudge for parents to pay their lunch balance.
Rebecca Rialon Berry, NYU Langone Health child psychologist, notes that a cold sandwich is the definition of powerlessness, as kids “judge each other by how they look or what they have.” This exacerbates the stigma, embarrassment and shame of coming from a food-insecure household. In their media release for the key legislation that banned lunch shaming in their districts, California Governor Gavin Newsom notes that children who experience lunch shaming have a higher chance of getting bullied by their peers. So while unintended, these practices result in actions beyond a nudge for parents to pay their lunch balance.
We Can Do More
Several national politicians and local institutions have moved to completely stamp out lunch shaming, including Rep. Omar Ilhan and Sen. Bernie Sanders. However, a University of Cambridge doctoral candidate, Nikhil Goyal notes that bans on these practices are barely enough to resolve the problem. Goyal proposes that lunch should be free for all students and treated as a government investment in children’s health and well-being.
This year, the Expand Child Nutrition School Lunch Protection Act was passed, which qualifies more lower-income families to eat lunch without an out-of-pocket cost. Private efforts like fundraising and debt canceling donations are also popping up to wipe out school lunch debts.
Chalkbeat Colorado reports that after banning the lunch shaming practices, lunch debt in Denver public schools soared from $13,000 in 2017 to $356,000. But nearly one-third of these students were eligible for free and reduced lunch, highlighting the importance of getting eligible families to sign up for the program.
Going further, the Colorado Children’s Campaign has launched the Time to Eat initiative. Time to Eat intends to address the issue of children not getting adequate time to eat at lunch. In Colorado alone, at least 63 percent of kids reported receiving only 10 to 20 minutes of lunchtime. This leads to more plate waste, adverse impacts on nutrition, and encourages overeating to a certain degree. While research continues, the campaign is expected to help policymakers and communities address the issues in school cafeterias.
Specially written for Hunger Free Colorado
By: Reese Jones