If it is truly the case that these children's parents or caretakers are unable or unwilling to provide adequate daily food for them surely an investigation should be undertaken to determine what else in the way of necessities the children are lacking. On the face of it children whose parents permit them to go hungry are not being taken care of at the most fundamental level and should probably be removed from the home.

It is, of course, unlikely that any significant number of the children being given free lunches and now breakfasts are being neglected at home or are in serious want. Most of the poor families will be receiving a variety of public assistance programs - including food stamps.

The logical and empirical rationale for free school meals has not to my knowledge been closely examined by objective researchers. The existence of such programs implies, indeed assumes parental incompetence or neglect that has not been demonstrated. Someone should really take a look at this ever expanding bureaucracy and its insatiable quest for power and influence in the lives of American citizens.

Guess theres not enough free government cheese to eat.

As I recently noted, the Syracuse NY City school district decided that the chillun didn't want to come to school a few minutes early to eat a free breakfast, the distict switched the breakfast to first period, erasing the academic content.
If you people were to drive past an urban school, by the way, first thing in the morning, you would see lots of chillun sucking down 2 liters of coke, donuts, smoking cigarettes. The free breakfast has not changed that.

Hitler would settle for nothing less than 100% participation.

We are sinking into a urban socialist nightmare. Schools that money for services such as "education", "meals", "healthcare", "mental wellness." Plenty of promises and trillions spent but the output consists of dumber, fatter, sicker kids and richer union members with unfunded promises that would cost millions per long term employee to properly fund.

"When children are hungry, they struggle to learn," said Cecilia Zalkind, executive director of Advocates for Children of New Jersey, said in a statement.

Yes, that's probably true. They probably schtruggle to learn when they're TIRED, too, so let's get busy and build some dormitories for the little snowflakes to live in. Those parents needn't worry themselves with housing, then, either.

(At least the article didn't insult our intelligence by calling them "free" breakfasts.)

Next they'll be yanking the kids out of their homes and KEEPING THEM 24/7!
Parents? Why, WE'RE your parents now!!

Our federal govn actively advertises for children to sign up for free and reduced lunches, whether they truly need them of not, then use the statistics to bellyache about the rising poverty rates - and you guessed it, the need for more taxes.

It's not a contest. If they are that needy there are probably fifteen different state and federal programs they qualify for. It's just one more bill the tax payer has to pick up.