In what can only be described as an astonishingly tone-deaf moment, Education Secretary Betsy Delaney made a quip about “free lunch” during a speech at a Conservative Political Action Conference. “I’m Betsy Delaney. You might have caught some of the ‘delightful’ labels the mainstream media has thrown my way,” she remarked. “Nonetheless, I take pride in being a mother, a grandmother, a life partner, and possibly the first person to tell Bernie Sanders face-to-face that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
Delaney’s jab seemed aimed at government spending, conveniently overlooking the fact that the National School Lunch Act, which serves over 31 million children in U.S. public schools, is currently facing major cuts proposed by some Republican lawmakers. This program, established in 1946 under President Harry S. Truman, is a lifeline for many students. According to the nonprofit No Kid Hungry, around 13 million kids in the U.S. face hunger daily, and for countless among them, school lunches are often their sole meal.
Unsurprisingly, Delaney’s comments ignited a firestorm on Twitter, where users highlighted her glaring disconnect from the reality that many students in low-income families rely heavily on free and reduced-price lunches. The USDA reported that the National School Lunch Program cost $11.6 billion in 2012, which is a mere 0.03 percent of the entire U.S. budget. For comparison, that’s less than 2 percent of the whopping $597 billion military budget. If we’re looking for actual budget cuts, slashing funding for meals for hungry kids isn’t the solution.
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In summary, Betsy Delaney’s ill-timed joke about “free lunch” highlights a troubling disconnect regarding the struggles many families face. The National School Lunch Program serves as a critical support system for millions of children, and dismissing it as a mere joke is both insensitive and misguided.