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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums$71.12 That's how much I spent on food for my classroom today.
Peanut butter, bread, bananas, oranges, apples, nutri grain bars, granola bars, two boxes of cereal, oatmeal packets... I'm hoping it will last at least two months.
I wonder how many other teachers across America just spent a good chunk of their grocery money this month on other people's children.
But we all face the same dilema...how do you sit and eat your own lunch when you know some of your students don't have enough to eat?
nanabugg
(2,198 posts)FirstLight
(13,360 posts)I can;t believe you have to do this ...what about free lunch programs? are there kids that are not getting that help?
Honestly, I don;t know what I'd do without the lunch program, my kids literally eat me out of house & home during summer...thanks god they can also get lunch at the Boys & Girls Club in summer... How horrible that food insecurity is so rampant in our country
former-republican
(2,163 posts)Shame on them if they didn't.
tsuki
(11,994 posts)lazy nothings for taking tax money, it is difficult to get them to apply.
We had a lunch room director who understood this and contacted as many families to ask them, as a favor to him, to apply for either free or reduced lunch. He explained that the feds paid almost $.60 more each lunch that was free, and he was trying to build a budget to prove they could afford to add breakfast. He got people to apply that had resisted, and he got the breakfast program.
former-republican
(2,163 posts)Of all the thousands of ways tax dollars are used.
No parent should be made to feel this way.
Your post really disturbed me but also opened my eyes up even more .
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Last edited Mon Sep 10, 2012, 01:17 AM - Edit history (3)
Missouri Republican responds to child hunger: "Hunger Can Be a Positive Motivator"Sat Jun 20, 2009 at 03:21 PM PDT
by Dem Beans
The Party of No Ideas has finally come up with one: eradicate child hunger by sending your children to work at McDonalds, because they give a free meal to their workers.
This is the response of a Missouri State Representative to a summer lunch program to help Missourians who are struggling with the economic downturn.
State Rep. Cynthia Davis (R-OFallon) chimes in on how wasteful it is to feed hungry children during the summer, when they don't have a school lunch program to offer one good meal per day.
In her recent newsletter Cynthia Davis has the following words of wisdom to parents of hungry children:
Why have meals at home with your loved ones if you can go to the government soup kitchen and get one for free? This could have the effect of breaking apart more families.
Anyone under 18 can be eligible? Cant they get a job during the summer by the time they are 16? Hunger can be a positive motivator. What is wrong with the idea of getting a job so you can get better meals?
Tip: If you work for McDonalds, they will feed you for free during your break.
Families may economize by choosing to not waste hard earned dollars on potato chips, ice cream, or Twinkies. Perhaps some families will buy more beans and chicken and less sweets.
They are using a "crisis" to create an expansion of a government program. Parents naturally love their children and enjoy caring for their children just as much as ever during an economic downturn...
Laid off parents could adapt by preparing more home cooked meals rather than going out to eat.
If you can stomach reading her full newsletter, there's lots of gruesome, heartless dreck contained within.
St. Louis Today features a story about State Rep. Davis, as well as the following sad statistics about child hunger in Missouri:
Ms. Davis chairs the House Special Standing Committee on Children and Families. In that position, she might be expected to have insight into child hunger in our state.
She might know, for instance, that about one in five Missouri children lives with hunger. That ties us with Louisiana for the nations seventh-highest rate, according to a report released last month by the hunger-relief charity Feeding America.
Or that the recession has pushed the number of poor Missouri kids who qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches by 8.3 percent this year, well above the national average.
Apparently not.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/06/20/744986/-Missouri-Republican-responds-to-child-hunger-Hunger-Can-Be-a-Positive-Motivator
The Daily Kos allows sharing these.
former-republican
(2,163 posts)before reading the article you provided . I would have thought they were mistaken.
That can't be true I would have said.
This party and the people in it are so wrong for the future of our country.
xmas74
(29,674 posts)You'd be surprised at how far some districts have gone since those comments of a few years ago. In that area there might not be as much of a fight but in some of the inner city and rural areas some districts are doing their best to get every parent to fill out a form, even if they know they don't qualify.
In my district the form is included in the enrollment package and all are expected to fill it out.
lobodons
(1,290 posts)Why do voters in MO hate kids?
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/08/17/3766451/missouri-rep-akin-opposes-spending.html
BobbyBoring
(1,965 posts)How fucking crazy is that. You have all the rights in the world as a zygote. Soon as your born, you're on your own. Pull your self up by you baby shoe laces! Republicans need to be eliminated from government PERIOD!
freshwest
(53,661 posts)January 26, 2010 by Liz Barrett
South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer now says he regrets comparing poor people to stray animals.
South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer now says he regrets comparing poor people to stray animals.
Those good old boys in South Carolina sure know how to cut to the chase, especially when they're chasing poor people. Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer made national headlines after warning lawmakers and citizens at a town hall meeting a few days ago not to give food to poor people or they'll breed like stray animals.
My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. Youre facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that dont think too much further than that.
http://www.examiner.com/article/andre-bauer-shows-true-gop-colors-don-t-feed-poor-people-they-breed-like-stray-animals
Some people may wonder why I flame the Baggers and the GOP. They have some wonderful ideas about the disabled, and are not afraid to show it. This is what staying at home in 2010 got us and this is what we're up against:
In addition to statements raised by Fallon about poor people going out to eat instead of cooking at home, this OP shows how prone to myths by paid shills Republicans are, I urge people to read the AlterNet article linked on an OP posted by a new member, Whovian.
Near the end, the author realized some poor people had never had the opportunity to eat a meal in a restaurant before:
The Political Awakening of (A) Republican:
'I Had Viewed Whole Swaths of the Country and the World as Second-Class People'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021311534
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/political-awakening-republican-i-had-viewed-whole-swaths-country-and-world-second?page=0%2C5&paging=off
CrispyQ
(36,478 posts)They are vile beyond belief.
tsuki
(11,994 posts)board meeting. That is when he told us this. He also said that he called the families at night to talk with the husband. That women are more likely to sign up, but men are resistant. It does hurt their pride at not being able to provide. That is why he used the I need your help ploy.
The older I get the more I think like Eisenhower. Minimum wage should be a living wage.
Zoeisright
(8,339 posts)Many poor people suffer from severe depression. That illness is more disabling than end-stage heart disease. It's difficult to do anything; filling out forms is almost impossible. And poor people are routinely condemned and disparaged every single day in this country.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)So true. Heartbreakingly true.
xmas74
(29,674 posts)if parents qualify for WIC or SNAP (food stamps) their children are automatically enrolled in the free lunch program. And in my community a form for free/reduced lunches is given to parents to fill out as part of registering their child for classes. It is to be filled out, same as any other paperwork, before the child is registered for classes. It is considered mandatory paperwork, even if a parent knows they do not qualify. Letters are then sent home one week after school starts announcing if your child qualifies or not. (No money is taken the first week of school for any breakfast or lunch for any child. Also, the children do not know which of their classmates qualify for free lunch since lunches are paid on a monthly basis either via check/cash drop off in the main school office or by paying online. No money is accepted in the school lunch room.)
mazzarro
(3,450 posts)Lilyeye
(1,417 posts)Reminds me of my 4th grade teacher who used to get fruit for us every morning. Keep up the good work!
former-republican
(2,163 posts)doesn't your school have a free lunch or reduced lunch prices for some of the children?
Are you saying some of the children skip lunch due to the parents not applying for the lunch program?
dflprincess
(28,079 posts)and it's the kids who suffer.
The income limits for the 48 contiguous states are the same whether the family lives in South Dakota or southern California (they are different for Alaska and Hawaii) which makes no sense at all.
yellerpup
(12,253 posts)As are all the other teachers I know. Your sacrifice will be remembered forever by the grateful children you feed and teach.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)yellerpup
(12,253 posts)JI7
(89,252 posts)LeftofObama
(4,243 posts)This is IMHO what patriotism and citizenship are all about. Helping the least of us. Thank you!
FLyellowdog
(4,276 posts)former-republican
(2,163 posts)Are there children who's parent's that do not give them lunch money everyday to eat?
And shouldn't this be reported to the school board. What does the child do?
Does he or she just go sit at the lunch table and not eat while the rest of the children are eating?
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)whose parents couldn't always come up with lunch money. We never got any assistance. We just pretended to take a long time in the rest room. There were other kids like us and sometimes they'd share whatever they had. I never remember any teacher giving us anything.
I'm sure it's worse now.
former-republican
(2,163 posts)wow
I don't know what to say.
My wife just looked over at me tearing up.
She's reading your post now.
I can't even say I'm sorry because it's just hollow words on a website.
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)in this discussion. You give me a chance to reflect & speak on my own thin times as a child, so thank you and no need for apology. Your heart's obviously in the right place.
What's called "food insecurity" these days is often invisible to others. In our case there were 4 kids and we lived in a large urban area (inner city). We were skinny but we weren't starving--there would be something for dinner, though cheap and not a large amount. Like maybe soup or hotdogs and beans. But I remember Fridays were often pretty grim (food shopping was on Saturday since both parents worked at low paying PR/publicity jobs). Some days there would be lunch money, some days not. It was never predictable. So we pretended, out of embarrassment, that we were OK and just covered it up. I remember we'd eat sugar sandwiches and think that was a big treat (even my Dad would take 2 pieces of bread to work, nothing inside). But we weren't alone--I remember going to a friend's house whose family was in similar circumstances and she gave me a piece of bread with mayonnaise on it--that's all that was in the fridge. An empty fridge with a loaf of bread and a jar of mayo and she offered it with a smile that I've never forgotten. I also knew a family that was reasonably well off and when I'd go to their house sometimes after school we'd have cookies and chocolate milk. So you learn how to scrounge. I think I was more embarrassed about my clothes than the lack of lunch money.
Positive outcome--all of us kids got through college (working and borrowing) and all of us have enough to eat now. There can be residual damage, eg. I have a sister who is not poor, but still worried about not having enough money. These days so many people are in the situation of having to watch every penny tho, so you can't feel anything but blessed if food is not a problem. I think what it's done for me is that I'm acutely aware --that while abject poverty is not hard to recognize, there is a gray area where families don't ask for assistance, where they're under the illusion that they can still "make it." I'm here to say that often the kids just adapt to the situation as best they can. The lucky ones get out of it eventually. If I can enlighten anyone on this, I'm glad.
What's the statistic now?--one in five American kids is living in poverty in the richest nation on earth--yep, here it is:
------------------
(Reuters) - The number of children in the United States considered poor rose by 1 million in 2010, the U.S. Census said Thursday, with more than one in five of the youngest Americans now living in poverty.
"Children who live in poverty, especially young children, are more likely than their peers to have cognitive and behavioral difficulties, to complete fewer years of education, and, as they grow up, to experience more years of unemployment," the Census said.
In 2010, when the Census survey was conducted, 21.6 percent of children across the country were poor, compared to 20 percent in 2009.
That was mainly due to a rise in the number of children living below the federal poverty threshold, defined as an annual income of $22,314 for a family of four, to 15.7 million from 14.7 million in 2009.
The figures reflect the overall state of the economy. The national poverty rate stands at 15.3 percent and the unemployment rate is at 9 percent some two years after the recession that began in 2007 officially ended.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/17/us-usa-poverty-children-idUSTRE7AG2C920111117
JustAnotherGen
(31,828 posts)My husband and I devote the volunteer time and money to our local Food bank with the hope that just one more American doesn't have too little eat each day.
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)chloes1
(88 posts)I keep chickens and I donate eggs to my food bank, hoping that my neighbors kids' will get something to eat...
Poverty is just so rampant, there is one young man who told me he was poor because God doesn't love him. That broke my heart in way I can't even describe! Why, so often the government (local and Federal) chooses to balance the budget on the backs of the poor, whilst simultaneously vilifying them for their circumstances, I will never understand.
JustAnotherGen
(31,828 posts)Breaks my heart.
I 'quietly' posted this in the NJ Forum last week. The food bank we give a lot of time to is quoted in this article:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1066108
In my community - our 'poor' are hidden so to speak. Because of the wealth of the community at large - and cost of living - 26K for a single mom is not enough to feed, house, clothe her child. It's because of the people in this article - the ones who cannot get TAMP/Food Stamps - that we give.
DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)former-republican
(2,163 posts)some of the most amazing kind people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
Thank you for being a member and telling your story . And thank you to all the DU members who have helped me take my blinders off.
It's been a long road for me .
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)If it was a long road, then that makes it all the harder...
Welcome to DU, former-republican.
alp227
(32,034 posts)I thought that field was middle class.
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)No, public relations and even journalism jobs are often low-pay and especially were in those days (60's-70's). And of course my Mom was paid exactly half what a man would earn --of the two of them she had the higher position.
Yours is a common misconception. Communication & publicity--(ie. writing, speaking, editing skills)--have not been highly paid, and often aren't to this day. Now if you're in the advertising field or selling some hot commercial product you can do better. My folks were publicizing city government programs and local news-casting and such.
They worked hard and did their best. They never could afford vacations. They sacrificed all for their children. Their biggest mistake was in having more kids than they could really afford.
Check around if you don't believe me.
alp227
(32,034 posts)So I guess they are stuck with a thin safety net...no need for welfare but no luxuries either, and can't start families yet.
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)they could do OK. But it's very competitive. In this economy they will likely be exploited if they aren't a star.
Journalists can eventually work up to 50K or more. The pay for PR jobs is heavily dependent on the situation.
They should marry somebody with a stable career path and have as few children as possible, IMO. Not much safety net can be expected.
shireen
(8,333 posts)it is devastating to hear this personal account and know that it can be multiplied tens of thousands of times up to 2 million. I wish you could meet Gov. Romney and tell him your story. Just so he knows. Would he have empathy? I would like to think he would ... but i don't think he'll ever get it.
DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)good energy is good energy. :0)
DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)I'm doing my best to watch out for kids like you. There are a couple kids at my school who aren't in my class who I give food to. One is so thin I feel like crying every time I see him.
I see the same cycle every month...the food stamps run out and the lunches disappear or become so small they can't possibly be enough caloric content.
I'm sorry nobody helped you. I would have. :0(
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)like you keeping an eye out and helping where you can DonRedwood. Feels healing somehow, all these years later. So you have helped me. And I know that every one of those children that you treat so kindly WILL remember you --& at a deep, life-affirming level they benefit immensely from knowing that somebody cares. You have not only given them a bite to eat, you have given them hope. If they are lucky enough to get out of poverty and have a different perspective they'll look out for others too. Often the most generous people are those who have had the least.
Thanks for posting this--it really needs to be said. People who think that the poor have it easy in this country are very much mistaken. Nothing burns me more than to hear that line of Republican Rightwing BS. None of those fat cats can imagine what it's like for the 1 in 5 children living in hand-to-mouth poverty, and those who are teetering on the edge of it. It is a stressful, precarious existence. But they don't see it and they don't care.
Bless you, DonRedwood. U R an
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)Sometimes, we didn't qualify for the assisted lunch but my family would, mid-month, fall into a financial hole (medical emergency... car brakes going out... furnace blowing up) so there was no money for lunch.
What, exactly do you propose being reported to the school board?
former-republican
(2,163 posts)I meant no disrespect
FLyellowdog
(4,276 posts)but too often kids came to school having had no breakfast. I'd find this out when one would start complaining of a stomach ache. The first question I'd ask was what did they have for breakfast. That's when I shared whatever I could. It was sometimes difficult because the children (primary) would be embarrassed about taking the "snack" from me. I'd tell them that I knew their mom probably was just in too much of a hurry and forgot about breakfast or some such justification..."snack" was going to spoil if somebody didn't eat it...etc, etc, etc...anything to help them save face.
Of course sometimes someone would say..."Well, you shouldn't do that...it's not your job. The parents are supposed to feed their own kids." Invariably they were the ones who were sitting front and center in church the previous Sunday.
People sell our teachers short. It's sad, but true. But I still believe that teachers shape the world and do an outstanding job of it.
juajen
(8,515 posts)Lunches were paid by the month. That way, if anyone had trouble paying for their lunch, something was done to make sure they had lunch. I was one of 7 children and my father didn't provide very well. but most of the time, he came up with it. This wasn't the case with other children. I believe that the school just ate the money. It was a small town, and sometimes these bills were just paid. We had no assistance, but there were some well off people in our town who could certainly afford to pay for a child's lunch for a month. Breakfast came a long time after. Now, lunches have to be paid in advance, so that schools don't lose any money. But, assistance is available if you apply. We used to have very good lunches, cooked onsite. Now it is crap, or it is in most public schools. I remember a school in Dallas where the lunches were terrific. My kids knew what was on the menu every day and rarely missed school. Those were the days.
4_TN_TITANS
(2,977 posts)I'm glad you are making the effort.
bhikkhu
(10,718 posts)though the school lunch program in my state is very good, so food isn't so much the problem.
Many teachers supply their own classrooms with the various things the kids are expected to bring - calculators, protractors, notebooks, tissue, binders, etc, at their own expense. There are plenty of kids here who lack parents with the means (or the will) to buy them supplies.
I worked on a car belonging to a teacher the other day from one of the poorer districts, his only transportation. It was 25 years old and rattling along on borrowed time (barely), ready for the junkyard - we put two used tires on it and fixed an alignment issue...its a crime that teachers and school systems have to count their pennies and students have to go without, while we hear how the rich need another tax cut!
DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)Mopar151
(9,989 posts)Or look at an auto salvage yard. If somebody's parent works in one of these places, or a tire shop (who can get you the used tires they won't resell[protecting their new tire prices] ) they'll be happy to hook you up.
UrbScotty
(23,980 posts)I heard someone make that comment on Jeopardy recently.
How true it is.
Don, you deserve the best for being so selfless to your students.
Would that you not have to do this all the time...
JitterbugPerfume
(18,183 posts)It is heartbreaking that children go to school hungry
Skittles
(153,169 posts)yes INDEED
Sienna86
(2,149 posts)In our own towns, our own schools?
You're a wonderful teacher!
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)Your local PTA is usually the best place to start.
DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)some schools are awesome but food is an easy place to cut corners. Maybe your community is one of the schools that is serving really good food.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)Both of us volunteer quite a bit at the school and I always tell them if they need anything to send me an email. Budget cuts are hitting the school particularly hard this year. I just got through spending about $50 on 5 new glass palates for my daughter's art class.
DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)parents like you make up for a lot of parents who never bother stepping up.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)We have a few parents which are really good, but just not enough. The area that my school district covers is pretty affluent, so it's not as if people can't afford it. However, I am not going to sit back and allow teachers to shell out their own money for things that are necessary.
LWolf
(46,179 posts)waiting for the first check since June AND buying things the classroom needs.
My classroom is not as well stocked as yours, and I won't be buying food supplies until the first check of the year at the end of the month.
I DO have a large supply of granola bars, cheese and crackers, and peanut butter and crackers. They are supplied by our FAN advocate. She also has a room full of binders, pencils, etc. for students who need start-up supplies, and will be working to provide shoes, winter coats, eye glasses, and other essentials to those who need them.
Some parents will donate supplies; that usually covers about half of the paper, pens, pencils, tape, etc. that we need for the year, and I cover the other half with my class supply budget and my own donations. The class budget gets smaller every year, and my outlay for basics gets larger.
I will also be supplying all art supplies, since they are not "essential."
I also am adding to and updating, and replacing lost and too-well-worn books in the classroom library, and I have a large library; about 1,000 titles, most paperbacks. Every one of them is either a donation, purchased with my cash, or with book order bonus points. If I want them to read widely, I provide.
I'm also regularly purchasing actual curriculum materials. The last time we had a Language Arts adoption for my grade levels, about 5-6 years ago, they took everything else we had away to force us to use the new materials. Those materials consisted of an online component, a TM, and consumable work books with short stories and poems. After the first year, the district dropped the online component; they didn't want to pay for it. After the 2nd year, they dropped the consumables, leaving us with a teacher's manual but nothing for students. We are left swinging in the wind, scrambling to produce everything for all the reading, english, and writing standards ourselves. I have collected an eclectic bundle of stuff, some searched out in various storage areas, some purchased, to try to make coherent sense of.
At this point, I don't have anything left. I've counted how many meals and how many miles I need to get through until payday, and I won't be leaving home except to go to work; I can stop for food on the way home without adding extra miles.
My students WILL have food and basic necessities, at least while they are here at school, though.
DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)I put the food on my credit card :0( with the rationale that I will skip lunch.
I shamed my supervisor into letting me get new crayons in my room this year. My district gives each room a small budget buy I have a BIG class (almost double ALL the other special ed rooms) and I get the same amount of money as rooms with less than half the number of students I have.
I have to buy all the kleenex, sanitizer, diapers, cleaning supplies out of that small amount. Last year the district even took the money to clean the rugs in my room out of my classroom budget.
I am making almost 100% of my own curriculum as well. No library in my school.
LWolf
(46,179 posts)I've got 90, which is more than most. I don't know what I'd do without our FAN advocate.
Do you have something like this where you are?
http://www.familyaccessnetwork.org/about
1monster
(11,012 posts)suitable for afternoon snacks for the kids. Parents would stagger the weeks they brought in the snacks, but often there wasn't much. Since I could at the time, I brought in enough stuff to last ao week about two or three times a month. I continued taking snacks for his class through third grade, after which it was discouraged.
It doesn't hurt to ask parents to contribute to your food bank. Those that can will often be willing, especially if they know their child's classmates are going hungry. Not all will care, and not all will be able. But perhap enough will contribute to save you the pain of having to rely on credit cards with their high interest rates to see that your students don't go hungry.
LuckyLib
(6,819 posts)bags of crackers, etc for snack time on a regular basis. What shocked me was the racist attitudes of teacher aides who would try to keep children already on free lunch from getting access to snacks brought for kids who did not require assistance. I repeatedly had to say, "Any child who wants something can have it." Don't think for a minute that those racist, nasty behaviors went over the heads of the children. They get it -- they feel the shame of their family economic circumstances is ways we will never know.
WinstonSmith4740
(3,056 posts)Both you and LWolf sound as though you work for pretty poor districts...do you have a Title 1 classification? I'm in Clark County, Nevada and I thought we had it bad, but at least they spread our paychecks over the year, so I don't have to limit myself to Ramen noodles all summer, although I am driving a 22 year old car. A lot of our kids qualify for free/reduced cost breakfast and lunch. We used to get a $200 credit card for classroom supplies, but that went away about 4 years ago, along with our raises with-in our "step raise". I teach PE, so I'm used to the big classes, but this year I took on a Health class also, and I'm averaging about 42 students/class there. The fact that you buy food for your kids is awesome on your part. Like the poster from the 80's said, it'll be a great day again in America when our schools have all the money they need, and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.
The tragic part here is that it, of course, is not the kids OR their parents faults. I wish there was a way to get the Romney's of the world to see just how their philosophies and policies are affecting the kids, but then again, they wouldn't give a rat's ass. If a child is hungry, they can't learn. I keep thinking back to an old Mel Brooks movie called "Life Stinks" where he plays a wealthy man who is forced to live on the streets for a month with none of the resources & advantages he's used to having. I don't think Romney would last 2 days.
Oh, well. Back to lesson plans. Hang in there.
1monster
(11,012 posts)It's a tremendous amount of work to find it,download it and fit it into lesson plans that fit together, but it is there. I have tons of stuff I've collected over the years. PM me with your grade levels and subjects and I'll see what I can find for you.
LWolf
(46,179 posts)I've got sources for reading and writing; grammar is where the holes are.
suffragette
(12,232 posts)but figured I'd post it just in case it might.
http://quizlet.com/
You can use sets already made by other people or create your own.
Also, not fully accessible since it's flash, but there is audio available so can help with learning disabilities, 2nd language, etc.
LWolf
(46,179 posts)SunSeeker
(51,574 posts)bluestateguy
(44,173 posts)Were I a K-12 teacher in this climate, I would not do as you have done.
With public school educators being beaten down by politicians and RW activists and never-ending demands that they work harder and longer for less, if it were me I would say that I cannot afford to do this or spend my own money on classroom supplies. That is what I would do if I was a teacher in Scott Walker's Wisconsin, or as many have indeed done, just retire.
Republican parents are welcome to raise the money themselves for classroom supplies and snacks; since they love to drone on about the virtues of private charity.
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)and it is much easier to teach a fed child than one distracted by hunger.
1monster
(11,012 posts)She asked me if I had a dollar I could give her so she could buy a candy bar. She hadn't eaten all day was close to fainting. And this was high school.
I've often taken extra food to school with me and given it to kids who did not have money or food for lunch. Heck, for a year and a half, I packed two lunches for my son every day. One was for him and the other was for a friend whose father and stepmother only allowed him one meal a day, dinner. That kid was finally able to move out of state to live with his mother where things were much better.
I'm a sub, so I get around and on occasion have the dreaded lunch duty. There's a lot of hunger in schools. I've noticed it especially in high schools.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)MrsMatt
(1,660 posts)and I've been packing a double lunch for her for about a year. She has plenty of money in her lunch account, but prefers the home packed meal.
I know she uses her lunch to feed other kids - she says it's because they either don't want to stand in line (which I understand is long), they don't like the lunch, or they are too lazy to bring their own.
I don't care; I'm of the mind that any 15 or 16 year old needs to eat, and if I supplying nutrition to a well-to-do lazy ass or someone whose family is truly in need it makes no difference to me. Kids need to eat.
I'm going to the school to see if I can put money into someone's account for lunch - I figure that the school knows who is going hungry.
nadine_mn
(3,702 posts)I usually go crazy for back-to-school supplies (yep I am 40 and haven't been in school since the 90's when I was in law school, but something about notebooks and glue sticks get me excited) and then I donate them to local community emergency assistance programs.
I am unemployed and don't have much spare income, but I would love to help out our kids and classrooms in need.
Afterall - they are our future and we all benefit from having great kids who are fed, sheltered and educated!
grasswire
(50,130 posts)They raised $100,000 + in cash, and also many donations of supplies. They were able to provide backpacks full of stuff for thousands of students.
Maybe your local TV station is doing something like that.
renate
(13,776 posts)southern_belle
(1,647 posts)all you do in your dedication for our children. You are an angel.
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)one of the middle schools in my city. So many of the children in the school qualified for free lunch and breakfast, that both meals were free to all.
I have long thought that maybe some kind of basic lunch should be included simply as part of the school day.
sammytko
(2,480 posts)Free for ages 2-18.
This is in texas.
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)program, also free. Can't remember if they also do breakfast, but I kind of think they do.
Horse with no Name
(33,956 posts)It is also in Texas.
Ours also has peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk for the kids who don't have lunch money.
They also automatically put kids on Free Lunches if the family gets food stamps so they don't have to apply for it...something I think is great.
Arctic Dave
(13,812 posts)out in Wasilla who shot down funding for the school lunch voucher program.
I need to find out who is running against that POS and send them a check.
Kurovski
(34,655 posts)on other people's children.
I daresay all teachers have. Certainly of all the ones I know/have known.
Kurovski
(34,655 posts)good going, DonRedwood.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Children and their families lives together, making connections that save them from failure and dire consequences. I'm not surprised that Don is doing this, I could tell some really heartwarming stories of the teachers that I've come to know in the last twenty years or so. I was never interested in the profession of teaching for myself. It is for people who never really stop working with children and their families. I cannot say enough for the teachers that I have come to know. They are really special individuals and I hate how they are being disrespected. It is not only the teachers, but the very diverse communities they serve that are being torn apart for no good reason by greed and ideology. It is one of the most tragic things happening in this country now.
Whisp
(24,096 posts)by your example others will try to be as well.
skeewee08
(1,983 posts)Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)for helping your hungry students.
can you make that $71 stretch farther by buying in bulk? I've seen big jars of pretzels and snacks at Costco
Response to Liberal_in_LA (Reply #43)
Kurovski This message was self-deleted by its author.
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)tavernier
(12,393 posts)at our neighborhood grade school. Because it is a small community and her own son attends the same school, she knows all the children and their "situations", and she has never, or will never, let a child miss lunch.
KBlagburn
(567 posts)not be heard.
God Bless You.
DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
K&R
obamanut2012
(26,081 posts)I honestly don't know of any school district that doesn't have reduced or free lunch for students, and often also breakfast. It would be a terrific idea to get someone in Administration to contact the parents so they know about this. I know our school district automatically gives the poorer kids lunch cards.
And, to be honest, you probably shouldn't get the PB. SOOOO many kids have peanut allergies now.
da_decider
(104 posts)some kids should starve so we can give billionaires tax-cuts so they can buy elections by brainwashing the right wing tools into voting republican. Good ole' capitalism
GObamaGO
(665 posts)The bread, oranges, apples, and bananas are very perishable and will only stay fresh up to a week at most. Do you have a freezer in your classroom?
That said, it is really very infuriating how much teachers end up personally bankrolling in their classrooms in order to perform their job.
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)Are you supplying snacks or meals? Is this a public school?
All schools have free and reduced-lunch programs. I assume most have breakfast programs now, as well. Why aren't the parents taking advantage of these programs? They are completely confidential. Not even the lunch ladies know who is on free-or-reduced lunch. Only the administration knows in our district.
Children on free-or-reduced lunch receive the exact same lunch as those who buy. With the new nutrition guidelines, the menu has improved quite a bit.
Our athletes also receive a bagged meal after school!
SunSeeker
(51,574 posts)The free school lunch we got was our best, if not only, meal of the day. And lunch time takes forever to come around when you're a hungry kid and all you can think about is your grumbling stomach. A nutri-grain bar or an apple can go a long way to making a hungry kid teachable.
My mom was trying to raise two kids on minimum wage after my dad disappeared. Unless you had figured out how to scam the system, the miserly allotment of food stamps usually ran out about the middle of the month. Then it was plain baked potatoes or--by the last few days of the month--nothing. My mom looked like a skeleton, and had no money to get her rotting teeth fixed. Finally, they agreed to just pull all her teeth and give her dentures--at the age of 33. Amazing that they won't pay for preventive dentistry or fillings but they do cover dentures. This was the early 70s. I understand the safety net is even stingier now.
I will never forget this special teacher I had. She knew I was in trouble. She'd invite me and a few of the other kids over to her house for bbq's and stuff. She showed me a whole new world. By the end of the year I was on the honor roll and stayed on it -- through college and graduate school. She was my angel, much like DonRedwood is to his students. I don't know what kids like us would have done without teachers like that.
da_decider
(104 posts)"Weve always encouraged young people ... get the education, borrow money if you have to from your parents...!"
-Romney
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)I've been poor before (not as a child). I found that I actually was able to eat better on food stamps than when I was employed full time making min. wage. Ironic.
SunSeeker
(51,574 posts)I have a public interest job and am able to give back.
My brother, on the other hand, is not. He did not have that teacher I had. He just seemed to fall further and further behind. I think he had a learning disability, but in the 70s, they just called that kind of kid "slow." No teacher ever took him under their wing like I was lucky enough to have happen to me. He never graduated high school and does odd jobs, struggling to get by. I help him out when he can't make rent. Fortunately, come 2014, he will have health insurance for the first time in his adult life, thanks to our President.
Wetzelbill
(27,910 posts)You can eat ok, but that doesn't mean you are better off at all, as you have nothing else to pay your bills with etc. & you can be on minimum wage and still be eligible for food stamps too, you may not get as much but you get something. So there is no way you should have been eating worse while working full time than not. Unless you have issues budgeting your money or were trying to live above your means.
daleanime
(17,796 posts)Said he ate better.
obamanut2012
(26,081 posts)TBF
(32,068 posts)they serve breakfast at my kids' elementary school and my daughter rides her bike to make sure she can get there early & buy it. It's about $1.75 if you don't qualify for the free/reduced. At home I give her cold cereal and apparently she prefers breakfast tacos, pancakes, etc ... ha! Nowadays they have on-line accounts for payment so I make sure she has enough for about $5 per day for food (which gives her breakfast, lunch & an ice cream or extra package of cereal to eat as a snack during the day). I'm sure it would be cheaper for her to eat at home or take lunch but she seems to prefer the variety. Occasionally I have lunch with her or my son and they really do have fairly decent food. It's not gourmet cooking but it's healthy and tasty for the most part.
Initech
(100,081 posts)Fuck you Heritage Foundation!!
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)They have a rather high sodium content.
mcctatas
(13,755 posts)Corn nuts
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)CornNuts contain 160 milligrams of sodium, almost 7 percent of the recommended daily allowance (2400 milligrams). Avoid foods high in sodium if you have health concerns such as high blood pressure.
http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-nature-valley-crunchy-granola-bars-i57486
Calories in Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars
Oats N Honey
Manufactured by Nature Valley
Sodium
160mg
7%
I suppose it depends on the brand too, but they are a bit higher then you'd expect for "health food".
CreekDog
(46,192 posts)corn.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)If you were on a 2,000 calorie per day diet and ate nothing but granola bars (180 calories each), your daily sodium intake would be 1778mg. The recommended daily intake of sodium is 2,300mg or less, so you'd be well below that.
AnneD
(15,774 posts)I use to spend at least $40 every two weeks for food for kids that didn't have breakfast. The school now gives free breakfast for every kid that wants it. And we have a lot of takers. I still sweet talk the cafeteria ladies out of milk, juice, and crackers to give to the kids that fall through the crakes.
And then there are the kids in need of glasses, shoes, clothes, coats, dental work, immunizations....the list is never ending, growing every week. I have really sweet Docs that will do favors for me now and then. I can't say enough about those guys. I have some sweet Dentist too.
The point is that there is no more safety net and the kids are falling through the holes. The homeless went through first. Now the kids and soon the jobless. It just seems to be imploding.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)obamanut2012
(26,081 posts)It's Federal, and some states have additional State funds.
And, in my area, kids who qualify are automatically put on it (families on SNAP, etc.). In addition, kids coming to school without lunch get a cheese sandwich, carrot sticks, and milk.
There's free breakfast for ALL kids.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)Horse with no Name
(33,956 posts)They now have a mid-morning snack for the kids...we sent some extras for the kids who don't have them.
Bless you for what you do.
noamnety
(20,234 posts)I keep peanut butter and jelly, and bread in the room for anyone who wants it. I just bought 5 loaves of bread today for school, they've been going through about 1 loaf a day. I also have packs of frozen salami and some sliced cheese (processed american cheese, ick, but I got it free in a coupon deal). I normally manage lunch for all the incoming new students for orientation, and the leftovers go in my room, otherwise lunchmeat's a rarity. I deliberately overbought granola bars for orientation because I got a deal on them - about 70 cents a box when I bought 10 at a time, but the trick was I couldn't buy more than 10 at once or the deal wouldn't work. So I got 120 boxes, but spread it out over a week, darting into each krogers I passed on the way home each day, 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there. It was cheap but the time added up. I was able to donate about 60 boxes of those to the school counselor for kids I don't personally have in my classes.
The day before labor day was exciting for me because Aldi's was closed on labor day and was trying to ditch their produce. I picked up tons of bananas at 10 cents a pound, it became peanut butter and banana sandwich day.
One thing that helps me keep the cost down is I keep a clean container for knives, and one for dirty knives, and run them through my dishwasher so I don't have to keep buying new ones and we have a little chat about recycling and landfills when I bring that up.
We are a title one school but don't have a kitchen area that can meet health code so we can't serve lunches, only milk to the free and reduced lunch kids. So this is my personal free lunch program.
Kurovski
(34,655 posts)Now i feel like a monster for fighting with you the other day.
good on you.
Butterbean
(1,014 posts)includes snacks, paper plates, paper cups, etc.. We're fortunate to live in a district and my kids attend a school where the parents are very involved and we all band together and collect money to buy collective supplies for the kids. We try to take the burden off the teacher, but as you so eloquently illustrated, not every teacher or every school has that luxury.
a kennedy
(29,675 posts)cali
(114,904 posts)you teach in.
I feel lucky to live in a town where local food is a huge deal and that ethos has spread to the elementary and high school. The food served now is so much better than that served just a few years ago. there are more organic farms per capita in Hardwick Vermont than anyplace else on earth and the farm to school program is active and healthy. In addition, we have a community garden that the kids work in.
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)goodword
(44 posts)if you're being taken advantage of?
You obviously have a huge heart and giving spirit. I'm not there to know the circumstances; I just hope your giving is not being seen as an easy out. And I'm not saying that to be mean-spirited toward children in need. I just know that there are people who will LET you feed their children so they don't have to.
Have you ever considered contacting local churches to see if they can assist these families? It's not necessarily right that you should have to take on this responsibility no matter how noble your reasons. If this becomes common practice among teachers it's may drive people into other professions.
porphyrian
(18,530 posts)No offense to the military, but I get pissed off when people spend so much time celebrating people in the military while ignoring all of the other civil servants who make sacrifices every day, yet go unappreciated. Thank your fellow teachers for me, too.
redroof
(24 posts)doesn't seem like such a good idea any more, does it?
Nah, I'm just kidding - you guys and the comm majors threw the best parties!
WestWisconsinDem
(127 posts)Teachers work their asses off to become teachers, and then work even harder once they start.
And this from a chemistry Ph.D., before you decide I also took a "blow-off" major
qb
(5,924 posts)If politicians had 10% of your compassion we would all be a lot better off.
JoyBugaloo
(99 posts)someone with such a good heart needs to be recognized!
I salute you sir!
Sanddancer
(52 posts)My wife is a school nurse. She always makes sure that she has food/snacks on hand for the all too many kids that leave the house unfed. A few are just hungry well cared for kids but all too many are hungry because of uncaring parents (3rd grader getting herself up and out to the school bus) or because the parent(s) are just broke. She's also seeing a trend where her role is as primary care physician, where parent will send a sick kid to school to see what the nurse thinks.
Atypical Liberal
(5,412 posts)Firstly, you should not have to be doing this.
Secondly, a teacher on a damn teacher's income should not be having to do this.
Thirdly, by you doing this you are masking the problem and possibly delaying it getting fixed.
Fourthly, it probably won't get fixed so what else can you do?
All of this pisses me off.
Zoeisright
(8,339 posts)NO hungry children. That's our motto.
Jennicut
(25,415 posts)One classroom had 8 children with no snack packed. Some barely had a lunch. It is pretty heartbreaking. I wanted to get my lunch out and offer them food but it was against school policy.
Berlum
(7,044 posts)Kurovski
(34,655 posts)That money could be buying food.
allan01
(1,950 posts)many do the same thing.
shireen
(8,333 posts)This thread was getting long, and I wanted my post to be more visible.
The question is, what can we at DU do to help our DU teachers?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021314347
Please post ideas. If you think there's enough interest, we could ask Skinner about starting a new forum for DU teachers and the people who want to help them.
CreekDog
(46,192 posts)like Corn Nuts.