Rockford Students Will Get Free Breakfast and Lunch Next Year

Starting next year, all RSD 205 students will receive free breakfast and lunch.

This is great news. The school district made the decision on Tuesday night to approve a free federal meal program that will allow all students, regardless of income level, to receive breakfast and lunch at no cost; starting next school year and will be implemented for four years. School officials say this program comes at no cost to the district and the funding will come directly from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This, of course, has caused a huge debate.

Regardless of what side you're on, the important thing here is that this is about the kids. I know it's easy to get wrapped up in arguing about who's paying for what with their tax money and how it's enabling those who take advantage of the system but the bottom line is  - food is fuel and kids need the proper nutrition in order to focus and do well in school.  Numerous studies have revealed that hungry children are at higher risk for poor performance in schools. One of the most biggest complaints I hear most often about Rockford is that it needs to improve area education. This is a good step in the right direction.  Let's be grateful, whether you can afford school lunches or not, that this is available to our children. Think of it this way, for those of  you who can afford school lunch, now you can use the money for something else. Focus on the well-being of our children.

Even as a parent that has a full time job, I still struggle to pay for my son's school lunches. It's always been a struggle, but I do what I need to do in order for my son to eat everyday. I remember before I got married, I was working three jobs, made less than $24,000 a year and I still didn't qualify for free or reduced lunches.  There was a time where I didn't even bother to apply because I was too proud or I just didn't want to deal with the disappointment of being told "no". It would've been nice if our school district offered something like this; heck, I could still benefit from something like this. Money saved on school lunches could help with utilities, unexpected expenses or in my case, gas.

What are your thoughts? How do you feel this will benefit the kids of RPS 205?