“Helping kiddos get food in their bellies.” This is actually a headline on the Colorado State Senate Majority Office website describing their latest effort to expand the welfare state and deepen dependance on government handouts.
The so-called “Breakfast After the Bell Nutrition Program” carves out classroom time after the start of school, during which institutions that are already struggling to serve kids academically must now serve breakfast to all students. By the second year of this program, schools with at least 70% of the students qualifying for free or reduced priced lunches will be required to participate in Breakfast After the Bell. To add some context to this number, a family qualifies for reduced priced lunches if they are earn 185% of the federal poverty level; that is 68% of the entire Denver Public Schools population.
But at least the Democrats are honest about this being another taxpayer money grab. The bill clearly states that one of its purposes is to “generate additional revenue for school nutrition programs through federal and state reimbursements.” They also slipped in a clause that effectively cancels the law if federal per-meal reimbursements decrease.
For those families who need assistance feeding their children, a safety net is helpful. But, nearly 70% of families need help with this for what’s likely the least expensive meal of the day? When a carton of eggs or a tub of oatmeal costs just $2 and offers multiple meals, it seems that a parent could likely feed their child more efficiently than a government program ever could. Of course, if nearly 70% of children genuinely need breakfast supplements because their parents are faring so poorly, why are Democrats hell-bent on killing the jobs that would lift Coloradans out of poverty?
It’s also bothersome that this is another incremental step by Democrats to control citizens’ lives. Imagine the outcry if at some point a lawmaker wants to claw back this appropriation – it’s not going to happen. Add this one to the list of government spending that will never go away.
Build a man a fire, and he will be warm for an hour. Light a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Show a man how to fish and he is fed for a lifetime. Pete many are skeptical because they see how so many take advantage of these programs at the taxpayers expense. A climate of dependence is created that many choose to not to overcome.
Are the kids actually hungry? Simply because they fall below some arbitrary line doesn't mean they are hungry and need the nanny state to feed them
Yeah, feeding hungry kids is a 'money grab.' Sheesh.