School’s Out — ‘School’ Lunch Isn’t

“A lot of the parents might think that it’s for the poor only, but it’s not — it’s for every child.”

That’s Johnny Chavez, program director of Clovis’s Sacred Heart Summer Food Service. A “federally-funded, state-administered program,” the SFSP “reimburses providers who serve healthy meals to children and teens in low-income areas at no charge primarily during the summer months when school is not in session.”

Chavez is correct about eligibility. No means test is applied.

Hunger is America is a wildly overblown “problem,” but to the extent that it afflicts children, shouldn’t programs be narrowly targeted? And if parents are not providing adequate nutrition to their kids, shouldn’t the state’s Children, Youth & Families Department step in?