California governor signs measure banning 'lunch shaming'

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Updated 10:14 am CDT, Sunday, October 13, 2019

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's governor has signed into law a bill that guarantees all students a state-funded meal of their choice, even if their parent or guardian has unpaid meal fees.

The measure bans the practice of "lunch shaming," in which students who owe the school money for meals are denied food or given a cheaper alternative meal.

. . .

In a statement Saturday, Gov. Gavin Newsom thanked Ryan Kyote, a third-grader at an elementary school in Napa County who brought national attention to the practice earlier this year by paying for all the food service bills of his fellow students at the school.

"I want to thank Ryan for his empathy and his courage in bringing awareness to this important issue," Newsom said.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/medical/article/California-governor-signs-measure-banning-lunch-14517735.php

[Jim__]

1. We should all learn a lesson from Ryan Kyote.

Imagine shaming school children because they can't afford lunch!

[More_Cowbell]

2. How much more could it cost to feed everyone?

Stop employing the people who take money in the cafeteria line and the ones who keep track of what's owed. Give every child breakfast and lunch. No shame. I bet a lot of parents would voluntarily donate.

[Aristus]

3. Yet another monstrosity dreamed up by the Ayn Rand Libertarians.

"They don't get lunch if they didn't earn it!"

They would rather throw away perfectly good food than allow a hungry child to have lunch. That's how sick they and their ideology are.

[paleotn]

9. Exactly.

That's the cancer that has consumed the entire Republican party and is trying to consume our country. It's fucking Dickens on steroids. Words cannot describe how much I loath those people.

[BigmanPigman]

4. At the school where I taught in CA we NEVER turned a kid away

and a ton of them got a regular lunch and a reminder note to take home to parents about their bill. That's it. That is all we did about it. No problems EVER! Actually, in Elem. School kids are still pretty nice and all the other kids at the lunch table would give the majority of their own lunches to whoever didn't have one without even being asked to do so. I know since I watched them for over 15 years. No one ever made fun of another kid about lunch either.

[Happy Hoosier]

5. How about just providing the meal!?

We provide 3 hots a day for convicts. We can’t provide one for school children?

[paleotn]

8. The usual excuse is....

"it's their parent's fault. It's their responsibility to feed their own children, not mine." But those same people will be in church every Sunday morning, praising God and ignoring the entire book of Matthew.

I don't know what to make of such heartlessness. I truly don't.

[sheshe2]

6. K&R

Sorry. I am out of words these days.

[paleotn]

7. I once had an argument with a winger about this ....

He thought giving them a break only encouraged their parents to abuse the system further. I said then take that up with their parents. Don't punish the poor kids. I cannot fathom anyone who would have a problem feeding hungry children for any reason. I don't give two shits what their parents did or didn't do. I just can't get my head around anyone deliberately letting kids go hungry because their parents didn't pay a damn bill. I just don't get it. I don't think I want to.

[mpcamb]

10. Gov. Gavin Newsom seems to be on a roll.

[jcmaine72]

11. I wish the rest of the USA was like California.

No, California isn't perfect, but it's a far better and fairer place than every red state combined times ten thousand.

[cutroot]

12. The republicans are weaponizing the suffering of children.

They pretend to have so much sympathy for life in general and then they prove time and time again that they have none. It's just another way for them to exploit the parents for having had sex.