Do you eat lunch? Not many students today are getting the opportunity to. As the new school year unfolds, a new problem reveals itself. With grocery prices at their highest, the school system has failed to provide free lunches at a time of need. When COVID-19 sprung onto us unexpectedly like weeds overnight, schools across the nation made the educated decision to contribute free lunches for students. So why take this away from students? Over 10 million students are not qualified to get free lunches across the nation, that's 10 million hard-working students skipping a meal.
The way to free lunch is not as easy as we think either, benefit can be difficult for some families to come across, and having a language barrier makes it even more disadvantageous for students to obtain help to get lunches. Some might even say that the lunch is not worth the cost—a mere average of $3 for a styrofoam plate, full of processed food. Is it the cost of lunches at that point, or the quality of the food that makes students skip a meal? The school system must do better for high school students by providing free lunches again. One of the attributes of integrity is dependability, students depend on the school, so why aren't they showing any integrity?
If you or someone you know is skipping a meal, there is help that can be provided, reach out to a counselor, or an adult nearby, or seek out the food pantry. West Carteret has a food pantry, and for further information, you can reach out to Mrs.Turner or Mrs. Lancaster. Although the school system may not have the integrity students need at this time, the student body has dependability for each other.