What do you think of parents getting reduced price lunches for their children?

Do you look down on them for it, or do you think it's smart of them to take advantage of it if they qualify?What do you think of parents getting reduced price lunches for their children?
If they qualify due to income, I have no problem with it.What do you think of parents getting reduced price lunches for their children?
I received reduced lunches at school and no one looked down at me. I actually had them fully reduced and received free school lunches. My mother was in a car accident and broke her neck she's half paralyzed and lost her job as a manager because she couldn't return to work. Before that my father was working as a mechanic and a car on a lift fell on him and he broke his back and his knee. He can hardly walk and some days not get out of bed.





Disability didn't give up enough money to hardly make it by and to be honest without free school lunches and 2 disabled parents I don't know what I would have eaten if it was for free lunches.





I agree people able to work should, but when something happens you couldn't prevent, like being rear ended by a drunk 18 year old kid, you can't control whether you'll be able to work and support your kids. I know I had to get a job as soon as I turned 14 to help out my parents..





No one ever looked down on me and if they did that's their problem when they walk a mile in my shoes or spend one night at my house they'd see why we weren't as fortunate as they were..
I think before my husband's ex sits back and gets ';reduced lunch'; for her child, she should get up and get a job first.





I think if a person is doing all they can to bring home income for their family when they're struggling, then it's no biggie if they're getting some help when it's needed.





But if you sit home all day long and do nothing while your child is in school - then cry broke, I think you should be ashamed of yourself.
Yeah, I look down on the single mom raising 2 kids with a court system who REFUSES to serve papers on the dead beat father because HE LIVES WITH HIS MOM AND WORKS UNDER THE TABLE SO HE DOESN'T HAVE TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT. (my sperm donor -not father, he doesn't deserve the title- was like that, he owes my mom over 10k or 100k, I forget which one it is.)





Ugh, no I don't look down on parents who need the help. Those who don't get married so that the mom remains a ';poor pitiful single mom'; who LIVES WITH THE FATHER I look down on. THAT is the reason those of us WHO NEED THE HELP CAN'T GET IT.
at our school all the kids bring home envelopes.


the parents fill them out and send the money in the sealed envelopes. Those who can pay, pay. Those who can not, don't. No one knows who pays and who doesn't.(our church pays the lunches for those who can not pay)(and we do recycling to help off set the cost of the lunches)


our school lunches are only $1.50 a day anyway!! That's for a hot meal, milk(or juice) and fruit or yogurt for dessert.
We get free lunch because even with me working we are still under (barely) the amount you have to be under to qualify for a family of 6 where I live (the amount where I live is 51,079). Lunch at my boys school is $2.75 per day, times 5 days equals $13.75 per week per child times 4 children equals $55. per week times 4 weeks equals $220. per month so yea we applied.





We are not poor by any means, we are able to support our boys and still give them some of the things they want. We don't drive fancy cars, we rent a 3 bedroom house for half of what most houses rent for in our area. We are lucky to have the things we have. We don't take big vacations or go around blowing money. We could probably find a way to pay for the lunches but then we WOULD be poor.





My twins just got braces last year and the cost was $6,000. Before that we actually never got free or reduced lunch, we never applied, we always just made it work and paid for it ourselves and some of the boys took cold lunch. Last year was the first year we decided to swallow our pride and apply since we knew we qualified because we had to start making payments on braces and my middle son age 12 is getting them sometime this school year as well.





It's nice to know not many people would look down on us for getting it. I actually expected the answers here to be more like ';you shouldn't have kids if you can't afford them'; etc...





EDIT: where I live each child has an account pin number and you can make payments to yuor childs lunch account online and then when your child gets lunch they just enter their pin number. When my kids enter their pin number it just tells the lunch lady they are all set. No one knows they get free lunch unless they tell them.
I qualify for reduced lunch for my daughter but she never takes advantage of it but i think if somebody looks down on me because of that, they have a big problem within themselves!
You have to have a VERY low income here to qualify for that. If you can qualify, that tell's me there's a NEED and if there's a need, they should do it. Why would I look down on someone for taking advantage of the services offered to them, when it's clearly needed?
right now in this economy take what you can get, my children get free lunch due to we are both unemployed,we do not receive any other assistance because my husband gets unemployment, our shcool lunches cost $2.10 at the high school and $1.90 for middle school,that is $80.00 to $100.00 a month. i thank god i can get it free.
Why would you look down upon someone who's poor? Seems uncivilized to me. I've seen the forms for the lunch programs and honestly those families deserve a free lunch for their kids. Have you seen the guidelines for this year? A family of 2 can only make like $16K a year. Could you live on that? I know I couldn't.
No I would never look down on somebody who honestly needed it..That would be inmature for adults to look down on other adults cause their children had free or reduced lunches..my children aren't in school yet they are only 4 and 3...but when they do start I would never look down on anyone...thats what the help is there for to help parents out who needs it..
No, I don't. Why would any educated being look down upon it? One of the only logical reasons for them doing it is because they can't afford it. I applaud them on not wanting their children to starve...
why would anyone look down upon it? how would one even know who is getting reduced price lunches unless they are asking around? be happy the parent is finding a way for their kid to get lunch.
smart people do smart things..


they're doing what they need to in order to feed their children at school and at home.
no. kids are expensive anyway. And fussy and most do not eat the whole portion, already small as it is.