Should School Lunches Be Free to Students?

Recently, we found out Stewartville's lunch program shamed kids that had unpaid balances in their school lunch fund. And a guy running for Governor wants to change all that in Minnesota.

He's Representative Paul Thissen, from Minneapolis, and heard about the Stewartville deal, where food on the kid's tray would be dumped in a bucket and a sandwich put on the tray in it's place. They literally shamed the kids for something over which they have NO control.

Some legal experts say Stewartville is likely breaking the law. School districts are required to, "ensure that any reminders for payment of outstanding student meal balances do not demean or stigmatize any child participating in the school lunch program."

Many say the slop bucket technique is a reminder, and so against the law.

Thissen, with the DFL, said it's happened in Monticello and Stillwater, too, and so he says the state should provide every student (K-12) with free lunch.

Of course, "free" is just a colloquialism. No plan has been offered, and no means of paying for the lunches has been released.

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