Food for thought
While they say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, District 186 is doing what it can to help hungry kids eat this summer with free breakfast and lunch:
(Six) schools are offering the meals through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program, which targets communities with high percentages of children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals throughout the school year.
It’s a wonderful idea for sure, but I don’t know if it’s been thought all the way through. While any child can eat for free, the program is ostensibly for lower-income kids. Why, then, are most of the schools offering the meals in more affluent parts of town?
Springfield High really is the only location that makes any sense, as it’s more or less centrally located. Things start getting trickier with Dubois, as it’s farther west on Washington Street.
But Lindsay? That school is the shining jewel of the evil far west side. Sandburg is located across Wabash Avenue from Sherwood, the sleepy subdivision in which I grew up. Wilcox, if I’m not mistaken, is in the Northgate subdivision, which is basically Sherwood on the North End. And Lee is near the Interstates 55-72 interchange, or quasi-lake area.
If the program is geared toward lower-income families, shouldn’t it be offered at schools in lower-income areas? If parents are having trouble feeding their children during the summer, it stands to reason that they’re also having trouble putting gas in the car.
Why, then, make them drive miles from home in order to take advantage of this helpful program?
