The absolute worst school program in existence

The most notorious school program in existence has contributed to the obesity epidemic in America. But they’ll never admit it.

On September 23rd, AIER’s Jon Miltimore published a piece called “The Hidden Costs of ‘Free’ School Lunches,” and it proved one point to me: The overall nutrition of school lunches hasn’t changed an iota since I left school after the 2008-09 year.

And I remember that food vividly. It never tasted right; almost like cardboard, and I forced down virtually every bite. As for what was in what they called meat? I don’t want to know.

But I do know this much: They fed us McDonald’s-like fries on four out of the five weekdays in high school to go with that ultra processed bread and meat. Essentially, those of us who bought our lunch, virtually the entire school, were eating the equivalent of fast food on most days, with Domino’s Pizza on Friday.

Back then, they had reduced and free lunches for families that needed them, a good 52 percent of the entire district if my memory serves me well. That would’ve been according to the 2008-09 school calendar data.

‘Free’ school lunches haven’t changed an iota

How much did these lunches cost even for those of us fortunate enough to pay full price? About $2.25, so a good $11.25 a week, which is far less than you’d pay for even bringing your lunch. That might imply the public sector provides a “good” option over overpriced items you get at the store or in restaurants, but Miltimore’s piece made it clear that the State isn’t doing much good with its ultra-cheap food.

Miltimore stated that, “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show both obesity and severe obesity climbed steadily following passage of the (Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act) law. In fact, severe obesity in children has tripled over the last 17 years, according to authors of a recent Journal of the American Medical Association Network study who called the obesity epidemic a “public health emergency.””

Of course, like the true statists they are and even Miltimore pointed out, “the authors say the crisis underscores the need for public health interventions.” In my view and in that of most libertarians, we’re more likely to tell these interventionists, “Haven’t you done enough damage?”

At some point, we need to realize that these primarily progressive programs never result in their so-called intended actions. They may have given kids more food without going hungry, but at the expense of long-term health.

An awful school program that isn’t free

Here’s more of what Miltimore said to stick a stake into anyone’s perceived argument that “free” school lunches are a good idea:

“First, the programs aren’t actually free,” Miltimore wrote. “My home state of Minnesota passed a law that offered free breakfast and lunch for all schools that wanted to participate in the program. The price tag was an estimated $400 million over the first two years.”

Doesn’t sound like ‘free’ now, does it? Remember, that anything marketed as ‘free’ always comes with a price tag that someone else will pay for. You could argue that’s not a bad thing, as the “haves” should be paying to help the less fortunate “have nots,” but this is how you punish success and reward failure.

The solution?

There isn’t one, but there are ways to make things easier without government robbing Peter to pay Paul, and subsequently making Paul’s kids fat and adding more fuel to the fire. But food doesn’t need to be overpriced, nor inaccessible to lower-income Americans.

They can grow their own food and raise livestock. It’s more labor intensive, but it often reduces overall costs. They can also sell anything in excess and churn out a profit. If gardening and small farming options aren’t feasible, like in large urban areas, one can still travel to local farmers markets that aren’t too far out of their way.

Farmers markets have no middlemen, especially if they’re on location, resulting in cheaper prices and, most likely, higher-quality food.

Further, intense government intervention, like zoning regulations, reduces competition, and the food industry is no exception. If zoning keeps what would otherwise be more readily accessible food out of the hands of families who can use it, that results in fewer options, lesser competition, and higher prices.

These are just a few ways to circumvent potential food shortages and lack of access for lower-income groups. Instead of increasing regulations and interventions while contributing to the obesity epidemic, the key is to decrease them and let free markets go to work.

That vision of voluntary order is exactly what I explore through fiction.

No lack of accessible food in Aurora Village

My young adult fantasy series, Arcane Elemental Academy takes place in the Aurora Village, where my protagonist, Yote Diamondback, finds solace. Yote notices that Aurora isn’t like other places she’s lived, as it’s run completely on markets with no competition-reducing regulations to think of.

And you know what? Food is always accessible and at low prices. There are hardly any middlemen, health inspections, building code laws, or anything that would stifle local businesses and force them to close their doors.

The people in Aurora know that these regulations contribute to increased costs and fewer choices. So, if consumers see unsanitary conditions or if they walk into a dangerous building, then guess what? Those businesses won’t survive and new ones that won’t repeat the same mistake immediately replace them.

Yote is in a pleasant state of shock and awe when she sees this. But how did she end up in Aurora Village to begin with? Check out the first three chapters of Book I in the series, The Arcane Prophecy, and discover the events that led her to Aurora.