We’re Hungry.

by Jessie Rivera – North High School Student

I come from a low-income family.

I never really realized that my background would affect my everyday life until very
recently. My mom and step-dad work at a pizza restaurant together. Although they get paid well
enough, the money they earn is easily wasted on bills and essential needs like groceries, toilet
paper, water, etc. I understand that this is normal for adults, but in my mom’s case the money she
makes is not enough to support 5 children. There are times when she often apologizes for not
having the money to give us a better life.

During my freshman year at North High School, lunch was free. You could grab the food
you needed and you wouldn’t have to worry about how much it would cost. I wasn’t given
money for lunch, so the fact that I didn’t have to pay for a basic human need made me feel
extremely lucky. It’s weird. I felt relieved knowing that I wouldn’t go hungry at school; the place
that I was being obligated to go to everyday, and the place that was supposed to be made to
support the students.

I never knew this feeling would only last me a year. This year when I was applying for
school, I noticed that the lunch was going to have to be paid for. I didn’t think much of this at
first because I figured I could just apply for free/reduced lunch. If I qualified, I wouldn’t have
had to worry about whether or not I was going to eat in the 7 hours I’d be at school. But I didn’t.
I felt guilty. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to go 7 hours without eating, especially in a
place where I have to use up my energy to learn. I felt guilty because I knew my mom was going
to have to provide me with lunch money every day just so I could eat. It feels like she’s wasting
her money on me. It feels like I’m keeping her from being able to support herself and my
siblings.

We stop by 7-11 every morning just so I can buy something for lunch. I know school
lunch is fairly cheap, but the food that’s provided to us isn’t really something I feel like I can eat
due to its bad taste. But we all know that 7-11 mainly sells junk food. So during lunch all I’m
eating is junk food. And I don’t think it’s surprising to know that sometimes cheez-itz, rice
krispies, or cookies aren’t enough to stop my stomach from growling. One of the friends I sit
with during lunch only eats a small bag of Goldfish and there are also multiple other people I
know that are constantly starving themselves at school because they either can’t afford to pay for
school lunch, or it just isn’t good. There are multiple posts on social media making memes out of
the fact that we all have to starve ourselves at school. So if there were enough funding for our
schools, I would want that money to be used to provide the students with better, healthier, free
lunch.

Providing students who can’t afford to pay for school lunch with free food can help them
learn comfortably. For example, some students at North say the food they eat impacts their social
and academic performance. As students, we shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not we’re
going to eat. Something as simple as being provided with food shouldn’t worry our parents,
teachers, and friends. My dream school is a school that treats their students as basic human
beings. We’re constantly being pushed to do our best, but how can we do that when we’re not
even at our best? Food insecurity is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed at schools, but
first we should work to provide our students with the food they need.

If money wasn’t an issue, my dream school would provide us with lunch that we can
actually eat and afford.