Single mother Rebecca Wood, 45, was already dealing with high medical bills in 2020 when she noticed she was being charged a $2.49 “program fee” each time she loaded money onto her daughter’s school lunch account.
As more schools turn to cashless payment systems, more districts have contracted with processing companies that charge as much as $3.25 or 4% to 5% per transaction, according to a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The report found that though legally schools must offer a fee-free option to pay by cash or check, there’s rarely transparency around it.
“It wouldn’t have been a big deal if I had hundreds of dollars to dump into her account at the beginning of the year,” Wood said. “I didn’t. I was paying as I went, which meant I was paying a fee every time. The $2.50 transaction fee was the price of a lunch. So I’d pay for six lunches, but only get five.”
The richest nation in the history of civilization can’t afford to pay for lunches for students so I think the only solution is for the parents to get more jobs. /s
No, really guys. Wtf.
Specifically impacting poor people. Which, ya, is fucking bullshit. Feed the kids in school please. Breakfast, lunch, dinner if you must. Feed the ducking kids.
Not here in Minnesota. Thanks Mr. Walz!
Ah yeah, pay money to pay money. That’s not a grift at all!
Free School Lunch is WOKE COMMUNISM! If you TRULY want to Protect and Save the Children you need to Hire ARMED GUNMEN to Patrol their School! That way we have Enough Money to Finance ANOTHER Billionaire’s Spaceship Hobby!