The lunch bell rings and all the kids run toward the cafeteria in anticipation. A bee line quickly forms and you can hear change jingling in and out of pockets. The smells of mac and cheese, pizza, and grilled cheese fill the room and the line inches forward slowly. At the back of the line, Michael twists the hem of his shirt in his hands – anxious about his upcoming turn in the lunch line. His palms start to sweat and his heart beats loudly in his chest.

Every step fills him with dread. Around him kids play, talk, and laugh, but all he can hear is the grumbling of his hungry tummy. He hasn’t had food in a few days and his parents had no change to spare for him this week – too many bills and every penny counts. The lunch lady looks down at Michael as his trembling hands fumble to get an empty blue plastic tray. The tray clatters on the metal beams and in a soft voice and barely lifting his eyes to the lunch lady, Michael asks for mac and cheese.

The lady fills Michael’s plate and his stomach growls louder as his eyes feast on his meal and the smell surrounds him. The lunch lady extends a hand toward Michael expectantly. Michael gulps and in a barely audible voice whispers:

“I don’t have any money.”

“Well, honey, you know the rules. No money means no recess. You’ll stay here and sweep up while your friends play,” answered the lunch lady.

“Yes, ma’am” said Michael, his head hanging low.

He sits in a table near the line and eats quietly. His growling stomach calming down but his frustrations growing. After everyone’s finished eating, Michael and a few other kids, stay in. They begin to sweep, and mop, and wipe off the cafeteria. As the repetitive movements of the swaying broom collect dust, Michael looks out the window and tears well up in his eyes as he sees his classmates playing.

The bell rings once more and, defeated, Michael heads back to class. He struggles to understand why he can’t play with the other kids. He understands that food costs money, but he is also powerless. He doesn’t have any money and his parents can’t afford to spare even nickels and dimes. He feels humiliated every time the kids stop and stare at him as he whispers that he can’t afford lunch. He feels envious and self-conscious as the other kids go and play, yet he must remain inside.

When his little feet lead him back to his classroom, he takes a deep breath and drawing up enough courage walks up to his teacher’s desk and asks:

“Why do I have to sweep the floor after lunch while everyone else plays?”

“Well, Michael, there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” replies the teacher.

Michael, with his head hung, goes back to his desk. The flavor of the mac and cheese still lingers and he hopes it’ll be there for the rest of the day – because he doesn’t get to eat again until tomorrow’s lunch time, where once more he’ll have to pick up a broom while his friends play. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

***

A few years ago Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) spoke against free lunches (which mostly benefit lower income kids) and stated “Why don’t you have the kids pay a dime, pay a nickel to instill in them that there is, in fact, no such thing as a free lunch? Or maybe sweep the floor of the cafeteria — and yes, I understand that that would be an administrative problem, and I understand that it would probably lose you money. But think what we would gain as a society in getting people — getting the myth out of their head that there is such a thing as a free lunch.” I don’t know if perhaps as time has passed Mr. Kingston had changed his views, but regardless, there’s still many who agree with his view without realizing the emotional damage that a program like this would have on kids who don’t even have a dime or a nickel to spare.

Rep. Kingston might have had good intentions with his comment, but the execution was exclusive and unfair. I agree, kids should learn the value of money and that life won’t just hand them things – but that applies to all kids, not just low-income ones. What he wants to claim to be a lesson on earning things in life becomes a lesson in that if you’re not as well as others, you’ll have to do work while better off kids’ get things handed to them. I also think that Rep. Kingston should consider that many times these lower income kids come to school depending on that one free meal to get them through the day because there’s no meal waiting for them at home after the bell rings. Many of the better off classmates won’t be facing this challenge, but it’s a cruel lesson to have lower income kids’ work for their meal while their other classmates enjoy playtime.