Free school meals and snacks to begin this term

| 26/08/2021 | 130 Comments
Cayman News Service
Savannah Primary classroom

(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government will be providing breakfast, lunch and snacks for students enrolled in all government primary schools starting this term. The groundbreaking move will also cover the Lighthouse School, and the ministry said money will be found in the next budget to provide all secondary students with free meals as well next academic year. Education Minister Julianna O’Connor-Connolly made the announcement at the Annual Education Professionals’ Welcome Back Event alongside other plans to continue improving education in the government system.

“Through this initiative, we will be able to ensure that students have access to regular nutritious food options whilst at school,” the minister said. “The next phase of this initiative will extend to the secondary schools. As such, it is the ministry’s goal to include in the next two-year budget sufficient funds for free meals for high school students commencing August 2022.”

She said funding would be found to recruit 80 new assistant teachers to support classes up to Year 9 by the start of the winter term next year. “Not every one of our children is at the same level,” said O’Connor-Connolly. “The government is committed to providing schools with the resources to assist on this upward trajectory and to make sure that no child within our education system is left behind.”

Premier Wayne Panton, one of a number of government and elected dignitaries present at the event, was the first politically elected leader to attend an education welcome session in decades. He said education was his government’s top priority.

“The ratings of schools and the introduction of laptops to public schools have made me very proud and optimistic about the new school year and the future of public education in the Cayman Islands,” he said. “I am happy to kick-start this new school year with you today. We have an outline of the recent successes and those over the last few years. Let us add another positive chapter,” he told the new and returning teachers.

In July 4,272 laptops were distributed to government schools for student use, and 120 iPads were procured for the Lighthouse School as part of the Ministry of Education’s 1:1 Laptop Initiative. Another 762 laptops will be distributed to secondary school students during the ongoing school orientation. Schools will also receive the 470 laptops that have been ordered for Reception students once these laptops arrive on the island.

The ministry has updated the network infrastructure and increased the bandwidth in all 15 government schools. O’Connor-Connolly urged students to take care of the devices they have been entrusted with and encouraged parents to submit a signed copy of the acceptable use policy to their child’s school before the start of the new school year.

The newly appointed Department of Education Services (DES) Director Mark Ray said the department would surround teachers and the schools with support. “Your schools must have strong leadership. We must have quality teachers that believe children can achieve. That is how we will achieve student progress,” he added.

In a release following the event Ray also said that the schools were ready to “facilitate a seamless start to the new school year”.

He said that all schools had been assessed following the passage of Tropical Storm Grace. However, as a result of the imminent bad weather, the DES cancelled the scheduled government school orientation activities for Thursday afternoon and on Friday. Meanwhile, work has been ongoing to ensure that schools are safe and clean for the students return next week.

Ray also has an eye on the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and the reopening of the borders.

“Considering the planned reopening of our borders and the fact that we are experiencing quite an active hurricane season, we have updated our continuity plan to ensure that we are ready for any eventuality. I am confident that we will be able to forge ahead with remote teaching and learning as needed,” he said.

The DES has masks for all students who are required to wear them aboard school buses and for educators. Safety signs have been placed throughout the schools, and Ray implored parents to ensure that their children are ready for a positive start to the new term.

“It is important that our students are ready for an exciting start to their learning journey this year. We want them to come with their books and other learning tools, be dressed for academic success in the appropriate school uniforms and remind them to observe hygiene protocols, such as regular hand washing and sanitisation,” he said. Parents should keep children home if they suffer from a fever or flu-like symptoms, he added.


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Comments (130)

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  1. Darlene Mckenzie says:

    With no disrespect. Stop playing politricks with our innocent children. It will be the samething funding it now and funding it another it another time same amount of funding. Just starving our children more longer. God is angry with such a cruel act. Feed the prisoner and starve our future leaders results too more prisoners.

  2. Free Education? says:

    CNS- How about asking the Ministry of Education for a cost breakdown? I’d love to know how much their “free education” costs as compared to the private schools? Government needs to be held accountable for their expenses.

  3. Anonymous says:

    After Julie’s love fest this week, who cares about issues like education standards and campus safety, including from voodoo Principals performing exorcisms in school?
    Can’t make this stuff up!
    Is Principal Frederick being charged, or is she merrily back to work at Red Bay Primary by the way?
    Did the kids get counselling or just holy water?

    • Anonymous says:

      From experience (working in a poor district in the US), the best way to handle the free lunch, is to have it buffet style with lunch monitors. The lunch monitors ask the children if they would like the certain type of food and the monitor puts it on their plate. That way, what is not wanted is not wasted and can be stored for another day( if possible), given to the homeless, and/or not ordered for the school system again.

  4. Anonymous says:

    I would like to know how Government will be billed for these lunches. Some student don’t eat the food supplied at the canteen and bring their lunch. What happens if students don’t want what is on the menu on a particular day? What happens if I have to quarantine for 14 days with my child? If for whatever reason my children are away from school will Government still be paying the suppliers? is there a fixed price Government will be paying? I have been told that the wages that are paid to the canteen staff is very low. This should be looked into as well.

  5. Bob the builder says:

    This is crazy and unbelievable. There are better ways to spend Government money.

    If they want to make cayman better then:

    1. Free health care
    2. Cost of living need to change
    3. Shipping duties on food, gas and clothes has to go down
    4. Stop Approving CUC every year on rising prices (how much money does a company needs when the whole island pays them)

    If the Government really want to make cayman better , just fix the problem.

    This would make Cayman a better place to live and grow. People wouldn’t be living pay after pay, if they do that is their problem and if you can’t feed your child with family service checks every month then what is Family service doing??

  6. Anonymous says:

    People acting like giving a child a bowl of bottler banana porridge and a package of plantain chips is going to make parents pop out 8 more children.

  7. Anonymous says:

    The negative, and arrogant comments under this article are upsetting.

    HOWEVER, as a SIGLE MOTHER myself, which I did not choose to be, but unfortunately these are the cards life dealt me… I do everything I can for my children. I ensure that they have everything they need. There are times when I go to work not knowing where I will get lunch from, but I ensure that my children’s lunch kits are fully packed, with snacks and a well-rounded lunch.

    And yes, I can agree that there are many parents (I know them personally) who spend money on the fake lashes, fake nails and fake hair (Sometimes 2 to 3 hundred dollars) and go to every party and event taking place, then turn around and complain that they don’t have the funds to take care of the essentials for their children. And yes there are dead-beat parents out there (Men and women alike) who don’t offer any financial support to the primary parent.

    However, as others have pointed out, many of us parents who are struggling are very happy and relieved hearing this announcement. Because there are many of us parents out there who are genuinely trying, but its hard. Especially with the rising cost of living (which is one of the MAIN problems).

    Also adding to the problem, are the many immigrants who come here on work permits as waiters/waitresses, or as lower level office clerks, and 6 months later they are managing companies. And these same immigrants, turn around and bring all of their friends or family from THEIR country to live and work here also. And I use the word immigrant and not “expats”, as I do mean immigrants. Because it does not matter if you came here from Honduras, Jamaica, the Philippines, the US or the UK, you are an immigrant. The meaning of “immigrant” is when someone goes to live permanently in a foreign country.

    Another problem, is that the staff at the government entities (Such as the NAU, Children and Family Services Etc.) who are responsible for filtering through the applications from families requesting assistance, are turning away more families than they are helping. But those very same staff, ensure that that assistance is given to THEIR friends and family. Even items donated for young parents, are taken from the donators and never given to the persons it was intended for. (I know this for a fact)

    The fact is, there are SO MANY problems that need to be addressed and rectified. However, being upset at young children getting food is not the appropriate response either.

    And saying that “if you cant afford to take care of a child don’t have one”, only means that the already fragile population of Caymanians would soon become 0%. And only the imported immigrants who have the privilege of the higher paying jobs would be able to have kids. Go Figure.

    I for one, am happy that my children’s lunch is one less thing that I will have to worry about at the end of every month as I sit by my dining room table to divide up my salary into bill payments.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Low food security and hunger can contribute to toxic stress – the strong, unrelieved activation of the body’s stress
    management system.

    A lack of healthy food can lead to malnutrition, health problems caused by a nutritionally-deficient diet.

    We all have a limited cognitive bandwidth. People tend to spend their limited mental reserves on resources that
    they lack, and so hungry children focus on food, which can lead to neglect of other areas of life such as
    schoolwork.

    Food insecurity is frequently stigmatized through media messages and public discourse. Families often work to
    keep their food insecurity hidden, and children may feel stigmatized when using free and reduced lunch programs
    and other social services.

    Studies show that food insufficiency is associated with higher prevalence of poor health conditions, including
    stomachaches, headaches, and colds; and that severe hunger can predict chronic illness among both preschool and school-age children.

    Hunger-related toxic stress can negatively affect brain development, learning, information processing, and
    academic achievement in children.

    Malnutrition in the first years of life is especially harmful, impacting physical growth, decreasing resistance to
    disease, limiting the size and functioning of children’s brain structures, and stunting intellectual capacity.

    Severe hunger is associated with anxiety and depression among children. Research shows that families’ lack of
    sufficient food, irrespective of their income, is associated with depressive disorders and suicidality in adolescents.

    Food insecure children may perform worse on academic achievement tests and learn less during the school year.

    Children may feel ashamed and isolated by the stigma associated with their lack of food.

  9. Anonymous says:

    stop.
    there is no one starving in cayman. no parent is short of food…
    absolutley no reason why a child cannot be fed in the morning.

    • Anonymous says:

      You need to get out of Crystal Harbour a bit more.

    • Anonymous says:

      Caymanians has become a new breed of people. They willing to pay 35,000 $ for a new car, but wont pay the same for a piece of land, they live in the saloons and bars but won’t feed their children , complain they don’t have money when they children go to school hungry, but always has money for expensives phones and watches etc. And they think having children for no good men is in style. Then complain that they are single mothers. Policiations only thinking about how they can get the votes , so they can fill their pockets and to hell with the country. Sad, very sad indeed, what cayman has come to.

    • Anonymous says:

      Well then I suppose all of these non for profit organizations who are set us to feed these “non starving” people should be investigated. As they are clearly making off like bandits. Don’t be an arrogant imbecile. I suppose next you will say there is no one in Cayman losing their homes, and there is no such thing as unemployment.

  10. Baby Daddy says:

    Deducting this from my monthly child maintenance mandate. Thanks PACT!

  11. Anonymous says:

    There is not a country in the world where free lunch isn’t provided to children. I grew up in Jamaica in the 70s and early 80s. The company that provided free lunches is called Nutrition Products. It was a company subsidized by the government that provided lunches to schools at the primary level and mostly in depressed areas which is where I grew up. Every day I received either a vegetable patty and milk or a grotto bread with cheese and a small box of milk. There were also plantain tarts for dessert (didn’t like those and still don’t to this day). As someone who grew up in the poorer parts of Jamaica where money was scarce it was sometimes the only meal that I had for the day. In the mornings I recall that my aunt would send me to school with perhaps a cup of mint tea and maybe a piece of hardough bread. Imagine trying to learn on that. I would love the day when we got what we call bollo slush. It was bulger. Very nutritious and what I recall most about it is that when you ate it, you drank all the water in the world that filled you up. It didn’t hurt that it tasted very good.

    Times are tough and as someone who works alongside families here in the Cayman Islands that are in crisis, a hot meal goes a long way to a child that is hungry. I am thankful for the school lunches that I received as a child. Today I am a well accomplished individual with children of my own. I learned to pack my kids’ lunches in lunch boxes and send them off to school. I came home every evening and cooked a meal so that they had something hearty to eat. Not rich. Just living pay cheque to pay cheque but spending wisely.

    I always found it strange when I just relocated to Cayman how many times I would hear about childhood hunger. For those who only see people driving around in cars and living in large houses, there is another side to Cayman. The side that this Government is trying to help. It is this side of Cayman that past governments have ignored and it is this side of Cayman that breeds anti-social behaviour but it is also this side of Cayman that has the most potential. Providing a hot meal to a child who has not seen a hot meal in a few days turns that anti-social child into fulfilling his or her potential.

  12. Anonymous says:

    I don’t understand the many butt hurt comments?! It’s food for CHILDREN!! Due to unforeseen circumstances, my household is now down to my income alone and this will be a little help to me. I understand there are some parents who can afford to give their kids lunch money, but there are also parents who genuinely struggle or can’t at all. I’m just an average earner who is barely making ends meet and I am happy about this.

  13. Anonymous says:

    Everyone knows cost of living is rising way beyond what we are compensated and so many children are hungry. Stop being bitter and jealous about kids being fed when many in government also have perks on top of their well paid jobs. If they want to pay for food in schools then good for them!

  14. LapCop says:

    5,500 laptops distributed to children. Does Govt keep a record of who receives each laptop and obtain a receipt from the parents?.What happens if a family with 4 children/laptops leaves the island with their laptops, do they have to return them or are they a “free lunch”?.

  15. Anonymous says:

    I think what they are saying that this should be means tested.

  16. PhenomAnon says:

    While I feel for the families that cannot afford to send their kids to school with either a bagged meal or money for a meal, I feel that this program just pushes our people more and more towards dependency on social welfare and government handouts. We’ve seen for years how many of our government leaders have used handouts and giveaways as a means to garner public support. Needless spending on brick and mortar schools for example. Just so they can say “Look at what I’ve done for you. Now vote me in again”. Meanwhile, the actual education that our children receive in these schools is not sufficient to propel them into either tertiary education, or ready them for the workforce. We need to prepare our people to COMPETE in their own country, so that they can take advantage of the opportunities that people move here from across the planet to take advantage of. Teach our people to fish and stop handing us fish.

  17. Anonymous says:

    Good. Let’s just make sure they are high quality meals.
    If there was a way to donate to this effort, I would.

    • Nothing says:

      Reading these comments explains a lot.

      It is obvious to me that we need to pick up the pace of the PR refusals.

      The people posting here are the same people who make fun at our amazing civil service who protect us and make Cayman a world class jurisdiction. I know this because as a civil servant I am answering calls all day from lawyers who need to be educated on our laws and procedures. You know its true.

      When a Government makes a decision that actually reduces the cost of living for the average Caymanian. That is a bad thing.

      Well my response to the negative posters who are jealous that they are not Caymanian is…you are and will always be what Connor was in Mobile. Only a Caymanian knows the answer to that question.

      Hint the answer is my name.

      • Anonymous says:

        ” because as a civil servant I am answering calls all day”, this is the point everyone knew you were lying.

        • Anonymous says:

          2:16 pm, civic servant answering calls, now that’s a strange thing, they don’t like doing that, after all that’s a little work

      • Anonymous says:

        They are on here criticizing the parents who embrace this because they can comfortably afford to send their kids to private schools and provide lunch, breakfast and dinner without blinking an eye. Yet, these same people ran to Cayman to enjoy the highest standard of living they’ve ever had and make the most money they’ll ever earn. They could not do the same where they come from, and that is the case for 90% of them.

      • Anonymous says:

        Given that it’s lawyers ringing you, let me take a wild guess and assume that these calls are not about the primary legislation that makes Cayman a world class financial services jurisdiction, but either the labyrinthinian regulations and procedures imposed by the civil services or domestic legislation such as immigration law? Because imposing new filing fees every 5 minutes or changing how you access basic services so that they involve as many people as possible is not what makes us a world class jurisdiction but is what keeps you in a job and maximizes government revenue.

    • Anonymous says:

      You already are, more than you know.

  18. Right ya so says:

    Unfortunately, many of these comments are true about waste boi’s, weaves, new phones, not taking birth control but it’s the children who suffer – we need to feed the children AND educate the parents. A needs assessment should also be done but we all know the system can be scammed. While we’re feeding the children at school, they can learn and hopefully we can give the next generation a better footing in life and break the cycle.

  19. Anonymous says:

    Good, more crack money for me.

  20. Anonymous says:

    My first reaction was, oh no, enabling entitlement and disabling parental responsibility. But after talking to a number of “middle class” parents who feel the pinch, I understand. And talking to teachers who often buy meals for kids who are hungry….I buy it now.

  21. Anonymous says:

    Will there be a requirement for parents to provide evidence of needs? If a family makes sufficient income to afford their own children’s meal will they still benefit from this?

    • anon says:

      Look what’s on your mind. Geez

    • Anonymous says:

      Way to stigmatize poor kids. A lot of kids who can’t afford their own lunch would be afraid to take the free lunch because it identifies them as poor. This makes them vulnerable to teasing and bullying. If everyone gets a free lunch there is no such stigma.

  22. Anonymous says:

    What exactly are these kids going to be fed? A healthy balanced meal, which they will probably turn up their noses at, or ??

  23. Anonymous says:

    Some of these comments are indicative of exactly what is wrong with Cayman. If you are not in the middle-class to poorer portion of this country, who did not have the financial ability to send your kids to private school – then please STFU as you have NO IDEA how it feels to make less than your peers just because of where you are from. You have no idea what it is like to be born somewhere that you have less rights and respect than those who fly into our island and have their road to success paved for them. You have no idea what it is like to not have the amazing experience of furthering your education as you had to work to help your extended family survive this exurbiant cost of living – before having kids of your own. Nor what it is like to be in the middle class and have CUC, fuel regulators, supermarkets and banks raise rates every other month until you cannot survive, and end up in the poorer bracket by default. Please, if you are not living it – leave it alone. We have life hard enough already before your degrading condescending comments. Stop adding fuel to the (economical, social and nationality) division fires!

    • Anonymous says:

      I’m a Caymanian, middle class, single mother with a special needs child and I find this to be a slippery slope to Communism because only a Communistic government pays for everything. How will government pay for everything? Money has to come from somewhere. Finances nor Tourism is dependable like we have found out.

      • Anonymous says:

        COMMUNISM? Good lord, get a grip. It’s food for kids who don’t deserve the crap they are born in to.

  24. Anonymous says:

    The hate in most of these comments about children getting free food at school just goes to show the road Cayman is heading down.
    Take this as a warning caymanians, try by any means necessary to get rid of some of these devils here, if not then I fear something worse is headed for the tiny under sea level rock sitting on the edge of one of the world’s deepest ocean.

  25. Anonymous says:

    Selfish arseholes remember you are Christian.

    There’s lots of money washing around Cayman to feed and educate all children, wherever they are from or what school they attend.

  26. Anonymous says:

    You all wanted one person one vote? See what it’s bringing?

  27. Anonymous says:

    Om. So why the high school lunch fee has increased! There aremany people still unemployed.
    Many government staff also make less than 2500 monthly!

  28. Anonymous says:

    This is an example of how shallow the PACT government thinks. Why not try to fix the problem of Caymanians. It being able to afford to feed their children? Better education, upskilling, stopping the abuse of the work permit system, finding out why so many are living in poverty and removing the barriers . This is just a giant bandaid and won’t fix the underlying problem.

    • Anonymous says:

      It’s hard to get a good education when you’re starving. You can’t learn when you’re hungry. This is super important for the advancement of Caymanians

  29. Anonymous says:

    I’m sure this is well intentioned but it doesn’t fix the root problem… also as others in this comment section have mentioned there is no such thing as a”free lunch”. This will come out of the public purse. It is the responsibility of the mother and father to properly feed their kids. Can’t afford it? Simple solution, don’t have kids. They are a joy but they are expensive and not to be had lightly. Another suggestion is don’t waste your money on the latest trends and devices or expensive beauty treatments and put the money into properly looking after your children. Fruit like an apple/bannana and lunxh options like a sandwich is not expensive in the long run even on an island like Cayman. Even cheaper if you buy in bulk from somewhere like cost-u-less or price right. No child should have to go hungry, we can all agree on this, but this is not the solution. A better one would be making birth control free or at least more affordable. And ladies please stop shacking up with waste boys. They are nothing but trouble and will leave you hurt and with a kid that will likely have 10 siblings by other women. By 10 cents

  30. Anonymous says:

    So government can continue to allow sea walls and give billions in tax waivers with no protest. Yet when kids are fed its a problem. Okkk

    • Anonymous says:

      That’s why they will have to continue doing this. Those same companies will be the ones paying the taxes for the free lunches, whether it is work permits or something else.

  31. Roy says:

    School lunch is critical to student health and well-being, especially for low-income students—and ensures that students have nutrition they need throughout the day to learn. Research shows that receiving free or reduced-price school lunches reduces food insecurity, obesity rates, and poor health. In addition, the new school meal nutrition standards are having a positive impact on student food selection and consumption, especially for fruits and vegetables.

    Government is great at flushing money down the toilet.
    Thankfully this is not one of those times.
    Great initiative. Well done.

    • Anonymous says:

      Nobody disagrees with providing meals for those kids whose parents are not providing for them. The problem lies in governments’ inability to figure out who needs it from who doesn’t, so their solution is to give it to everyone. I suspect the tourism stipend is the same, give it to everyone who applies.

      If you use up all the country’s resources buying votes under various disguises, what are you going to do when a disaster strikes and we really need the money?

  32. Anonymous says:

    The statement that Premiere Panton is the first political leader to attend the educator welcome back in decades is false. Alden McLaughlin and McKeeva Bush both attended in recent years. I was not living in Cayman prior to Mr. Bush becoming Premier so I don’t k ie what happened prior to him.

  33. Anonymous says:

    I think this is a wonderful. Some caymanians work so hard but still can not make ends meet, I have worked hard but the being received doesn’t help. This is a smart idea

  34. Anonymous says:

    Handout capital of the world

  35. Anonymous says:

    If PACT government can’t figure out how to provide meals for school kids whose parents can’t afford it; and I have to say that Feed Our Future has been successfully doing that for ten years, so government only needed to make a much smaller contribution to them, can we expect the imbeciles to continue using our money to purchase sledge hammers for every small nut that needs to be cracked?

  36. Anonymous says:

    This is just removing responsibility from parents. That doesn’t set a good precedent.

    • Anonymous says:

      So you’re willing to ruin the next generation of Caymanians because some of their parents are flakes? That makes no sense. Children should not suffer because their parents can’t take care of them (and some parents really cannot afford to, with this rising cost of living). No kid deserves to go to school hungry.

      • Anonymous says:

        With that approach – why stop with food…? There are some really awful parents who don’t do well by their children in many ways. If children shouldn’t suffer because their parents can’t take care of them then their children shouldn’t be with those parents. So are you going to take all children away from parents and put them somewhere the government can take care of them? How are you deciding what sufficiently taking care of them means? This mentality you have and your “best intentions” have led, in history, to some really awful outcomes and atrocities. Might want to start some critical thinking instead of warm fuzzy feelings.

        • Anonymous says:

          Please I would like to hear of examples of awful outcomes and “atrocities” coming out of the government providing for children.

      • Anonymous says:

        I agree with you 100%.

      • Anonymous says:

        Next generation of Caymanians need good quality education, not just free meals.
        Meals will keep them alive, education will allow them to thrive and succeed

  37. Anonymous says:

    It’s not free its paid for by taxpayers. Stop calling it free.

    • Anonymous says:

      You people don’t know what being a tax payer is. No income tax, no inheritance tax, no annual property tax. Stamp duty waived. Yeah you pay some duty on goods, just like sals tax elsewhere and that’s about it. Free lunch means free to the child. Stop being d—-s.

  38. Anon. says:

    What is here needs to be fed, protected and loved but…

    How about you hand out free birth control to the parents? If they can’t afford what they have they shouldn’t be making anymore.

    It should be mandatory if you want assistance take a birth control shot in the arm. 3 months at a time. Men included. When any woman has to drag a man to court for child care “snip snip”. Some if these jerks have a dozen children with no end in sight.

  39. Anonymous says:

    Encouraging people to have more kids with dead beats.

  40. Anonymous says:

    Provide g free breakfast is ridiculous. When are lazy ass Caymanian parents going to look after their own kids ???

    • Anonymous says:

      What a disgusting out of touch with the real world troll you are! You are what is wrong with the world.

    • Anon says:

      You think it’s only Caymanians? Watch some talk shows from around the world you prejudiced person.

    • Anonymous says:

      You should be poor to understand you @$$

    • Anonymous says:

      to 26/08/2021 at 4:16pm: I usually try to be courteous, but your demeaning comment does not deserve any such. If you are not from here, pack your condescending sh*@ and LEAVE. We are trying to help students succeed by being able to focus on learning, not their rumbling belly; but you obviously do not want to see children succeed because they are of a nationality you do not respect. You are a parasite getting fat from a country you obviously do not respect. Just leave already.

    • Anonymous says:

      @ 4:16pm when are you gonna take your ass back to where you come from so you won’t have to witness “lazy” ass Caymanian parents getting a hand out? Instead of complaining about locals when you came here by your own free will, go and deal with your own kind who are not lazy then.

  41. Anonymous says:

    Good.

  42. Anonymous says:

    Government giving parents fish, when they Should be teaching them how to fish, sad. But glad for the kids.

  43. Anonymous says:

    Sounds great, but where I used to work( in one of the poorest cities in the US), the students used to throw out the free breakfasts, lunch and snacks and walk across the street to Wendy’s , Dunkin and Taco Bell. The school I work at now gives weekend bags of food for families and every Friday most students just leave the bag sitting on the curb before getting on the bus. Such a waste.
    Staff now give the food not eaten and that would just be thrown away to a teacher who takes it to a food shelter at the end of the day.

  44. Anonymous says:

    No such thing as a free lunch

  45. Anonymous says:

    Of course, all children must be fed, but how many of these children requiring assistance are not Caymanian? And if there are non Caymanians needing that help, how has that been allowed to happen? I thought it was a strict requirement that non Caymanians maintain their children?

    • Anonymous says:

      Relax…non Caymanians don’t attend public schools.

      And if they did, no one would be taking anything from your plate.

      • Anonymous says:

        Not true. Approximately 30% of Government School Students are not Caymanian.

        • Anonymous says:

          6.07pm In some Govt school classes 70% of students are from one other country. Reaping all they can from Cayman.

        • Anonymous says:

          If so, do you want to segregate children? One eats, another does not?

          • Anonymous says:

            No. One eats and the other eats. Each in their own country and on fed by their own government. The problem is that my government is feeding both. That is not sustainable. It also diminishes the assistance available for Caymanian children.

          • Anonymous says:

            True. Government needs to provide free meals and snacks to all the children at Prep, Triple C, First Baptist, CIS and St. Ignatius….

            • An says:

              I disagree with your comment, 8:45am. Parents choose to pay in excess of CI 1,200 a month for their child to attend private school, it is their choice. If any hardship comes from that expense, they should reassess their options.

    • Anonymous says:

      Stop this nonsense about caymanians and non-caymanians. Everybody should be helped.

      • Anonymous says:

        No. Our law says that if you are not Caymanian and need help, you cannot be and remain here. Someone is not following the law. We need to come to the realization that our economy is not some benevolent wishing well from which the regions’ needy can help themselves. It is compounding and growing exponentially, and if not stopped, can and will destroy us. It is an existential threat to our community and our way of life.

        • Anonymous says:

          Get a life loser.

        • Anonymous says:

          These are children. This is a rich country. I can’t believe someone could be so petty and clueless as to suggest feeding children is an existential threat. Get a life is right.

          • Anonymous says:

            Watch government run out of money and try to introduce taxes. Watch the financial services industry leave. Then tell me how rush your country is.

            None richer than Jamaica, right?

            • Anonymous says:

              This nation had a budget of about a billion US dollars. There are a million ways the government wastes money. There is a bloated civil service. There are handouts. There is borderline theft. If you think spending money on feeding children in school is what is going to lead to the imposition of taxes I don’t know what to say… Frankly this is one of the dumbest arguments I’ve ever seen posted here. And there have been many.

          • Anonymous says:

            You have 3 fish and four loaves. Feed 10,000 people, every day. See how long it lasts.

          • Anonymous says:

            How long will we remain a rich country? Do the math. At current rates of growth of those needing government support and sustenance (exponential) this will not end well, for anyone.

    • Anonymous says:

      Any child on the island that legitimately needs to be fed, should be fed. No questions asked! But, how many children truly need breakfast? Lunch? And will eat the provided snack? How much will end up in the trash?

  46. Elsa Brown says:

    Thank you

  47. Anonymous says:

    I think this is great however I think parents should be able to opt out if they can provide meals because now you’re just making more of a gimme gimme attitude.

  48. Anonymous says:

    There is no such thing as “free school meals and snacks
    “. Somebody is paying for those so-called free meals and snacks. The real issue that needs to be addressed are the parents that are sending their children to school hungry and without lunch and some snacks.

    • Anonymous says:

      Way too many real issues need to be addressed, some of which such as “..the parents that are sending their children to school hungry..” can’t be practically addressed.

  49. Anonymous says:

    more bonkers wonderland stuff.
    why are the kids not fed at home?

    • Anonymous says:

      Not fed at home beacuse false eyelashes, weave on hair, acrylic nails & latest cellphone cost money. This is what the current generation spends their few dollars on.

      • Anonymous says:

        6:54 You summed that up perfectly. These same women will keep shacking up with waste boys and popping out more kids they can’t look after properly. Children are a blessing but also a huge responsibility not to mention expensive. Can’t afford them – use a condom… It is no one else’s job to support your child.

      • Anonymous says:

        6:54 you are so right. Very sad. Too many parents not making their children a priority. These deadbeats don’t pay attention to their kids and now expect others to provide even the basic necessities for the kids while spending money on vanity/luxury items for themselves.

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