" I hear the weather is warm in Mexico and you don't need shoes... "

" Over half? What is the documentation for his assertion? "

" Bill, I don't know but I am sure he does know because they have to know family income to qualify for their lunch programs. I woud imagine they compile statistics on their students. "

" According to school demographic characteristics taken from California department of Education API site 38% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch at Redwood (2007-2008 data). To qualify for free and reduced lunch in 2008-2009 a family of four can make no more than $39,220 annually. Federal poverty guidelines are $21,200 for 2007.
I don't know the data for the district as a whole. Or for Napa in general (those without students). "

" winemd, thanks for the numbers. I might add that I simply repeated what I was told, but even at 38% that is pretty bad. "

" I'm not arguing with you about the depth of the problem. At my children's elementary school, free and reduced lunch is 65%. Living on $39220 before taxes can't be easy. We were really close to that a few years ago, but not quite there. The heater went out while my husband was on a business trip in January and I could not get it fixed. Fortunately it doesn't get so cold in Napa and we used our fireplace. I was raiding the change jar to but a few fresh items and feeding my family of four from earthquake kit supplies. Fortunately we have gotten past that. I know many families who are there now or close and I am worried about more families getting to that point with the economy. "

" Wow! and interesting. A family of four living in the Napa valley on less than 40k annually. Most likely more than one income involved

Then again that describes the majority of Americans. Is it not a grand economic system. "

" Bill, I think it used to be a lot worse. When I was a kid my parents divorced, my mother got a job as a nurse's aide. She had three kids and we lived on her mininum wage. She got her sister to quit high school and help take care of us. That wasn't enough so they got a friend to move in to sleep on the couch to share the rent. Six of us in a two bedroom apt.

That was my life til I was in 8th grade. And we were not the poorest kids in the school by any means.

There is only a certain amount of wealth that the economy generates, and it is not necessarily the fault of anyone. "

" winemd, I understand. Part of it is California, it is so expensive to live here, rent/mortgage takes up so much of your income. "

" Basing it on the free lunch program is a crock!
My buddy lives in Bel Air, Across the street is a hispanic couple with 2 kids.
They own the house and they both drive less than 3 year old cars.
His kids go to school with their kids.
Both their kids get free lunches.
On paper they may live in poverty.
But, you can't drive new cars and own a home in Napa on the poverty level.
If people can't afford to work and live here. Then move to Vallejo or somewhere else and commute.
I have to commute to Walnut Creek everyday for work in order to afford to live here. "

" It's called the "underground economy". The amount many people "make" has nothing to do with how much money they earn. Considering the high taxes we currently pay (and with higher taxes to come) this is not going to change. It just shifts ever more of the tax burden on those of us who don't work underground.

Also NB, it's a big country. There are a lot of places that are not as expensive as California. I don't understand why more people (especially retired or those on fixed incomes) don't leave. "

" I love the "let them ear cake" mentality of some of the posters here. Does it occur to napawatcher that perhaps commuting is not a viable option(you might need a reliable vehicle and gas money) or that parents want their kids to go to better schools? "

" NB, this is where it becomes aggravating. I believe I am quite a bit older than you and I could regale you with hard times back in the day history but that would be meaningless. Personal experience current and past is nice to use if it is specifically relevant to the current point.

Whether or not the past was worse than today is not germane to half the children at Redwood receiving free lunches rather it is merely a tid-bit of personal history that sheds no light on why so many still qualify.

Notice also that so far 2 posters find it necessary point out that it must be a racial or ethnic problem rather than an endemic social economic problem stretching across society. One adamantly claims he is not racist in his opinions yet proposes the bigoted suggestions that half the students merely go to Mexico no shoes and warm weather is a better mix. The other has personal knowledge of his buddy’s neighbor’s finances but still hangs his objections on ethnicity. "

" There is a problem and it is called wage stagflation but defenders of wealth for the privileged few would rather ignore any such argument in favor of the I have mine to hell with anyone else. The majority of America lives on the edge of working class and lower middle class survival. It could be argued that the past was better than today if the decades of post WWII to the beginning of the Regan era were considered as and age of real economic advancement across the broad range of society. The promise of trickled on prosperity has not materialized for the majority of Americans.

Where we may be better off today than we were 70 years ago it is highly questionable if we are better off than we were 30 years ago. It will take much newer social and economic thinking than is displayed here. "

" My point is that there are a lot of needy people in Napa and I think that is legit. I am happy that there are so many others better off out there that are willing to pitch in and help.

Also, half the families are below the poverty line, I don't know what percentage get the free lunch. I presume winemd's numbers are right. "

" Nice to hear about this organization, NB.

I didn't see any information about where people could donate or help.

~Ruff "

" Currently, the average cost of raising one child to the age of seventeen is around $275,000. I believe this number is from the Census Bureau.

I'm hesitant to believe that kids wear flip-flops because they can't afford shoes. It's more likely that the kids are to lazy to put shoes on and just tell anyone who asks that shoes are not affordable so they aren't required to wear them. By "affordable", do the kids mean $150 Air Jordans or standard $15 tennies at Payless? I know some kids that REFUSE to wear anything less than $100 sneakers. Also, it's probably better that children eat school meals that are designed to be health and nutritious instead of the Happy Meal type garbage that some parents rely on far too much.

The Family Trust sounds like a great organization, and Ruff is right: Where's the info for someone to help or donate? "

" Ack! MarshaMarsha have you eaten at a school recently? My husband was involved with negotiations to improve the nutrition at schools with Sodhexo, the vendor that provides the lunches, 2 years ago. They improved it but it still is not great. I ate lunch at school about a week ago. I had a slice of ham on "wheat" bread as a sandwich, the salad bar (which is just okay) a piece of fruit. My son had pizza and fruit. The students hava a choice of lowfat milk or lowfat chocolate milk. I also watched what the kids chose to eat. Not too many ate salad. Both my children make their lunch, except my son wants to eat school lunch one day a week. What they make is much better. That being said, your point is well taken that the school lunch is better than what some parents serve. We are talking about having a family class about eating nutritious foods on a budget. Many families think that fast food is cheaper and quicker. Not always.
We are also having our annual Giving Tree to provide clothes (uniforms for our school) for those who really can't afford them. Yes, some of the students have one shirt to wear to school (granted that there is a "uniform" policy). In many cases it is not about not wearing the expensive stuff. There are definitely families who are struggling to provide for their children and thank goodness for organizations that are trying to help in various ways. "

" MarshaMarsha-
You might just be right! I go to Redwood and I see kids that only pay $.40 for lunch but wear things from places like Hollister and Abercrombie, where jeans normally go for around $60. Maybe if their parents bought them things from Target and Wal Mart ($3 for some t-shirts!), they would be able to afford the lunches at full price! "

" I've seen that too, Angelina, but I think that the clothing usually was a gift from other family members or friends, bought at the Salvation Army, or on sale. I'm sure you know how kids get teased for what they wear, and knowing that my child might be abused at school for what he or she is wearing, I might make it a priority to but them "acceptable" clothing, even if it meant putting them on free or reduced lunch. "

" The free and reduced school lunch program is based entirely on income, not on anything else they can "afford" to spend money on. If you make $27560 or less, you qualify for free lunch, whether you spend the rest of that money on shoes or jeans or cars. You can also get great deals on clothes with "the label" at outlets on sale or thrift stores in affluent areas (great shope in Walnut Creek and Marin). It is really hard to judge what is going on at home based on clothes.
$27560 is 130% of poverty level. That is $2297 before taxes per month. If you take out federal and state taxes, that brings it down to about $1880 per month (based on federal income tax estimate and 6% CA income tax). For a family of four, a pretty cheap 2 bedroom apartment is $850. Food for my family runs these days about $500-$600 a month. So let's say $350 for food. So this family is at about $680 per month left. If they have a car payment, that could be $100 per month for a car. Utilities run another $100 for phone and gas and electric and water. So $480 is left now to pay for insurance and medical, gasoline, personal care (toilet paper, laundry soap, etc.), clothes, credit cards if you have them, entertainment, and anything else. This is all based on pretty minimal cahrges and doesn't leave anything for emergencies or savings. It can be done, but it is not easy, and it becomes easy to see why some people are uninsured or need additional help. Our income is quite a bit more than that, but of course we have some higher expenses. But we still shop the clearance racks at Target! "

" Ruff and Marsha Marsha, let me see what I can find out about where to contribute. They do a dinner once a year and that is where they get their money, it may not be again until next year. "