I needed this, so thank you kindly!

But then I wondered, is this a true story? I hope it is a true story, because the values it displays is what true values are- kindess, caring for others, compassion.

on social media recently, I'm beginning to doubt most of what I see and read.

lesson. They are much healthier than the stories of hate.

Humankind has been telling stories for thousands of years, and there is a tradition of teaching through stories.

But I take issue with stories being posted as real that are often written by AI with AI generated images. It can be really disturbing to see how many people believe these stories are about real people.

With the proliferation of AI, especially on social media, the line between fact and fantasy is fading, which is something that will spill over into many areas of people's lives. I believe it is vitally important that people know the difference. Bad actors can and will use the naivete of trusting people for nefarious purposes.

It's a sweet story but it's just a story, created for maximum clicks. A lunch lady who was so kind as to pay for poor kids' lunches wouldn't be bragging about her kindness on X, ffs.

individual kids out of their own pockets, who needs free lunch policies?

This line of career sucks.

Most schools don't operate their own school kitchen, there's companies that have contracts with public schools that provide this service. I worked for a company called Aramark.


I came in at 6:45 am until 1pm Monday through Friday, with the exception of any days the students weren't in school . I brought home $200 a week after $40 was deducted for health insurance. I was one of the few lucky ones that received the most hours. Companies like Aramark always want the employees hours cut because they don't want to pay them. This was in 2017 and 2018.


There's a high turn over rate with the basic employees but there was also a high turn over rate with kitchen leads, managers and directors. I had 2 out of 3 kitchen leads that just terrible people in general. They got rid of one in particular and replaced her with someone just as terrible.


The school that I worked in had the highest unpaid balances. I had to either turn kids down for breakfast. High unpaid balances for lunches the students could get a cheese sandwich. That's it. A piece of cheese between two slices of bread. It use to be peanut butter sandwiches but with peanut allergies they switched it to cheese. These students still got charged a full price lunch for a cheese sandwich.

There were a few times I put $20 here and there on a students balance so that they could eat a meal. I couldn't do this very often because again I only brought home $200 a week.


Once when I was a cafeteria aide in an elementary school. I had performed the Heimlich maneuver on a 6th grade girl. I reported the incident to my kitchen lead because the 6th grader that I performed the Heimlich maneuver needed to be seen by the school nurse. I wanted to make sure that I didn't break a rib or something. It was a scary and emotional moment for me.


The kitchen lead was late delivering the cash to another school where the director collected the money. The director scolded the kitchen lead for being late with the cash. The kitchen lead says, "Niagara had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a 6th grade girl that was chocking on a french fry. Niagara wanted this student to be seen by the school nurse to make sure she didn't break any ribs during this maneuver. This is why I'm late."


It was also while I was at this job that I accused of taking something like a dozen cookies in one days time by another employee behind my back. It wasn't true and I think she was the one taking the cookies and then blaming it on me.


Working in these jobs sound great but the reality is not for the faint of heart. Apply for these jobs at your own mental health risk.

much better. I worked part time in a school in Sweden. A hot lunch was served every school day to every person in the building. No pre paid "lunch card." No ID required, just be there. There was always a large basket of fresh fruit at the end of the line and children were encouraged to help themselves.

The Social Democracies of Western Europe may pay high taxes but what they get in return is beneficial to them! Followed by free higher education.

This is why Minnesota passed a law for free school lunch.

How can any country let their children go hungry?

But of course in some respects it is the greatest because we have people that still step up to care for our children and neighbors.

by adding a small tax to wealthy taxpayers.. taxable income greater than $300,000/year

I carried my lunch to school.. a bologna and cheese sandwich and a piece of fruit. buying lunch at school not in our budget. at least once a week my lunch bag was stolen or smashed. tough being a poor kid in a middle class suburb in the 50's 7th grade was brutal.
we moved to the city.. at least a quarter of my 8th grade class was as poor as we were. I made friends and often shared my lunch with them, but mom had a better job and I had more to share.

Nobody gets lunch-shamed by being given a cold cheese sandwich; thank you, Tim Walz. The GOP hated it.

Shouldn’t be an issue. Good for MN and all states that do this. Glad to be one too.

Illinois has a free breakfast and lunch probram for "eligible" school kids, but no kid should have to jump through any hoops just to eat, afaic. Go, Minnesota and go, Tim Walz!

part of the recent flood of ‘feel good’ stories.
not sure what the purpose is. maybe it’s just the clicks, but it feel deeply cynical to me.

eta- this account is based in the uae.

Last edited Sun Nov 23, 2025, 12:35 PM - Edit history (1)

Lots more very similar stories from "Mary Nelson":

https://www.facebook.com/people/Astonishing/100087484522702/

i guess we’re all dying to see some good in the world. shd b a tipoff that almost every story features someone who ought to b retired by now.

There has been an epidemic of fake stories, videos, and photos the past few months. Most of them are from foreign countries. I was going to check out this account, but whenever I click on the link I get a black screen.

I don't think it is being cynical, just aware and realistic.

Edit to add: okay I didn't get a black screen on my fourth try.

i get more and more cynical the older i get, but it’s never enough to keep up.

(jane wagner’s words, lily’s delivery.)

At least I end up reading more books and less time on the computer.

The (temporarily available) location feature on Xitter says this post came from the UAE.

Like 2/3rds of MAGA influencer accounts, it’s a foreign op.

Have been going on since students had to start paying for lunch unless they could prove their poverty (thanks Reagan!).
Luckily, some states now provide universal free lunch and breakfast, because who cares if a middle class kid gets maybe $2.00 total worth of food free - a small salad and reheated serving of frozen teriyaki chicken nuggets on rice, and a bag of carrot sticks with a juice box or milk carton?
In cities, and in rural areas, where teachers or school administrators care, and kids have to pay for hot lunch, this happens. Or a local business steps in while the owner's kids are going to that school, and pays up school lunch balances as a charitable tax break.
However, the story is probably AI slop, designed to push a myth of a "Real American" - now an older Boomer who does their work out of love, not profit....because a lunch lady or a teacher are not going to have "The occasional $20 or $50 or $100" to put money on one or two hungry kids lunch account at one school.
The Real American is there to be exploited, the "Mommy and Daddy" that is expected to share their resources without complaint while everyone else does the important, active stuff.
Stories like this without addressing the devaluation of the idea of education or child rearing pushes the trope that Education, like Parenting, is supposed to be considered "a labor of love", that Teachers - and school Nurses, Administration, down to Bus Drivers, Lunch Ladies and Janitors don't really depend on the job, they live on the "feels" - like that babysitter you only need to pay $20 an hour to watch the kids over the weekend when you want to have dinner with a client.

my kids didnt qualify for free lunch, so they were always carrying some small change. they went hungry plenty of days cuz they were shaken down for their lunch money.
at least these days they can put it on a card.

Thanks for finding and posting.

WHY should this even be a thing? This damned Nation is going to hell while Fatass McPedo and his rich friends dine on caviar. This should not have been a story. I thank OP.

and it's disgusting that in some places kids have to go without, but a kind lunch lady like the one in the story wouldn't be bragging about her kindness on X.

trump never eats caviar.... it doesn't taste like a BigMAc

On his recent trip to England he was served some food at the State Dinner. He said it tasted good but he had no idea what it was.

that this is actually happening in a country that is the richest in the world.

And then there's the orange humpty dumpty, grifting off millions so he can have billions in his retirement account. This is so wrong in so many ways.

great things! And I truly believe there are more of them than the other kind.

It's beautiful that people help but there should be ZERO need to do so. Kids should always eat for free at school. We are literally forcing them to be there and therefore it's the responsibility of society to feed them.
Another thing that is nice that people do but should never be necessary is veterans. Be they homeless or with serious injuries, a vet and their families should NEVER suffer or be left to wonder how they are going to care for their loved one. The least we owe them, the government owes them, as a nation is to care for them for as long as they need care or need a home or need drug treatment or whatever it is they need.

Our society needs to get it's fucking priorities straight.
Stop starving children and stop screwing over vets.

The sad fact remains there are far too many hungry kids and adults in the richest country on earth.

the poster is in the uae. these stories r polluting the internet rn.
stop funding this bullshit.