Feeding kids is smart policy
Gov. Susana Martinez has the opportunity to make New Mexico first in the nation by signing a bill that recognizes that children should not go hungry because their parents don’t pay the bills. The bill, in this case, is for school lunches.
Called the Hunger-Free Students’ Bill of Rights, Senate Bill 374 deserves to be signed into law. It allows school districts to collect any debt owed by parents, but makes sure the kids aren’t being embarrassed in the lunch line.
No child has to go back to class hungry and ashamed if this legislation is signed. No food will be tossed away, avoiding waste. The legislation also would serve to encourage school officials to be more aggressive at ensuring all kids who are eligible for free or reduced lunches sign up. Cafeteria directors in the Santa Fe Public Schools district already are making sure all children are fed, even if parents owe money — that’s something in which Santa Fe can take pride.
After all, children in New Mexico are among the most foodinsecure in the nation. That’s fancy talk for a hard truth: Kids in New Mexico don’t know where their next meal is coming from. For such children, a hot lunch or breakfast at school can be their most consistent meals. Denying a kid food because of someone else’s failure to pay is no solution to the problem of people not paying their bills. Children should be responsible for what they can control, not the actions of adults.
Under this law, the debt can be collected, but kids will be left out of the equation. Instead, schools will be required to contact families who are behind on their cafeteria bills. Such contact will give families an opportunity to work to relieve debt before it spirals out of control.
With the resources of groups such as Communities in School in many of our schools, counselors and others can work with families whose debts are flagged so they find help to avoid a crisis. An unpaid lunch bill might be the sign of a neglectful parent. Often, though, it can signal that something is wrong at home. By addressing the debt with the adults, not kids, parents can get the help they need.
All in all, the legislation is smart policy. A hungry kid has trouble concentrating on the teacher’s voice or the math problems on the board. Remove hunger, and children will perform better in school.
The bill was sponsored by Sen. Michael Padilla, an Albuquerque Democrat, and backed by New Mexico Appleseed, a nonpartisan, nonprofit policy advocacy organization dedicated to ending poverty in New Mexico. Appleseed has been pioneering ways to make sure no child in New Mexico sits hungry at school, and this latest piece of legislation is good for kids.
When kids aren’t hungry, they can learn. They can thrive. And that’s what everyone — from Martinez on down to the classroom teacher — wants for the children of New Mexico.