Opinion

Be more precise about 'free' lunches

Posted July 11, 2019 1:00 am

When I was in college back in the '70s, one of my business professors wrote this acronym on the chalkboard - TANSTAAFL. We all sat there dumbfounded when he asked if anyone knew what it meant. Then he said it was the most important tidbit of knowledge we would ever learn as business majors - There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

Fast forward to the Daily Herald's Northwest Suburban news blurbs in the June 29 edition, and I see that "free lunches are available to children and teens 18 and younger on certain days" during the summer. These will be distributed at the Schaumburg Township District Library's Hanover Park and Hoffman Estates branches.

The article states this Summer Food Service Program is being offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. I'm fairly certain the Department of Agriculture is funded by taxpayers, so these lunches are anything but "free."

Perhaps the Daily Herald could be a little more forthright (and precise) in saying "taxpayer-funded lunches are available." It might also go a long way in letting these kids know this food is made available to them by hardworking people paying a good chunk of their earnings as taxes into the system. Let them know early on - TANSTAAFL.

Ron Skrabacz

Bartlett

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