Poll

NOLABridesmaid

Would you be offended if you received a letter referring to  free or reduced lunch for your kid from the school?

 

As in, highly offended that said letter would be mailed to your house because you and your husband have jobs and your said kid would be SOOOOOO embarrassed that he would qualify and you now want any reference to qualifying for free and reduced lunch to be removed from the system.......

 

Yes, that required a run on sentence.

6fsn

Nope

VarunaTT

No.  I"d assume that every kid gets a letter and, though I might not need it, I would want people who did need it to know the service is available.

AuntFlo

No.   

6fsn

Wouldn't offend me, but I'm guessing it did someone.

NOLABridesmaid

Yes, we think the same.

tawillers

Holy cow.

That person actually thinks "Free and reduced lunch letter 2013" goes on the kid's permanent record?

Letters are mailed every year and they have a booth set up at every single school on registration days.

Oface4eva

H remembers being embarrassed about it as a kid, but as an adult....and everyone gets it?  No.  There is no shame in accepting help.  PERIOD.

PirateBarbie

I'd probably be confused, but not offended. 

NOLABridesmaid

We have 80% of our kids qualifying for F/R lunch. Embarrassment is not a factor.

Oface4eva

Good, NOLA, it shouldn't be. 

I just remember H mentioning it in conversation.  I think where he went to school it wasn't as common.

zsazsa-stl

No. And qualifying shouldn't be a shameful thing. If they don't want to participate that is their deal, but how is the school supposed to know that they feel that way? I would rather a few people get the letter than don't want it than let families slip through without knowing that it is available.

I hope someone replied to her apologizing for the mistake and assuring her that the "super special snowflake" box has now been checked in her child's file.

6fsn

@Oface4eva- I think when we were kids it was more obvious who was on it.  My school at least had a little list next to the cashier that got checked off so everybody knew. 

tawillers

Lunch here is about $50/month and doesn't include breakfast (which Son eats here anyway).

Not everyone can afford an extra $50/month per child.

The school can't assume/guess who would qualify so the letters go out to everyone.

What's confusing?

baconsmom

We get one every year. They include the forms to sign up if you think you qualify, and a form to send back if you don't. It's information-gathering, and AFAIK, it's required by state or federal education policies. 

So, no. It's not personal. And even if it were, maybe it means my kid isn't taking lunch like she says, or I'm somehow not getting the phone calls telling me her lunch balance is low, and I need to contact the office, so I'd appreciate the head's up.

PirateBarbie

tawillers said:

Lunch here is about $50/month and doesn't include breakfast (which Son eats here anyway).

Not everyone can afford an extra $50/month per child.

The school can't assume/guess who would qualify so the letters go out to everyone.

What's confusing?

it wasn't clear in OP if this was a general letter sent to all of the parents "hey, your kid may qualify if you meet x, y , and z requirements. if you meet requirements and wish to participate, take the following action" or "Mr. and Mrs. Smith, your child Johnny qualifies for a free lunch. Take the following action:"

I'd personally be confused if I got a letter saying,  " PirateBarbie and DK, Wolverine qualifies for free school lunch." - because of our income bracket, I doubt she would. Either way, I wouldn't find it insulting/offensive. 

doeydo

I might be a little irked.  I'd be like "Why did you send it home with my kid?  Do you not think we can feed him/her?"

mrsconn23

We receive the free/reduced lunch application year.  We get a packet of paperwork at the beginning school year and that's one of the items.  It also includes the health card for the nurses office, the Internet policy and sign off sheet, the directory sign off sheet, the yearbook order form, and 5 billion pages from the PTO begging for money and volunteers.

I'm more offended by the amount of shit I get from the PTO than a free lunch application. 

hmonkey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon's_razor