NO SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER? DON'T WORRY...

In reading the March 12th edition of the Ripon Commonwealth-Press, I came across an article entitled "Ripon schools offer free or reduced-priced lunches for eligible families". I am a firm believer that a student with a full stomach is most likely going to be a better learner, as there are a boatload of studies that have proven that fact. And, I am not opposed to families below the poverty level enrolling in the program, provided the food is eaten, it is nutritious, and the family is not spending their income on a ton of other discretionary items, because, in the end, the taxpayer is paying for the subsidized lunches. What caught my eye was one of the instructions on filling out the forms to qualify:

For school officials to determine eligibility for free or reduced price meals and free milk of households, the household must provide the following information requested on the application: names of all household members and social security number of adult household member who signs the application.
In lieu of a social security number, the household may indicate that the signer does not possess a social security number.

Ok, let me get this straight. In the United States, a Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number issued to citizens, permanent residents, and temporary (working) residents. It seems to me that a person who is not able to produce a social security number is not abiding by the laws of the country, but is still eligible for a taxpayer-funded school lunch program. Of course, we live in a state where the governor is taking our tax dollars to the tune of $10 a year per driver's license, which were originally intended for Real ID program, but is instead withholding the money from the program, as reported last month in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Am I stretching this too far to make the assumption that they may not be paying in their share of taxes, as well?

I would be much more comfortable with this program if the school district would have added to the last sentence the following: The school district will work with the household applicant to apply for and receive a Social Security number...but, then again, I dream a lot of things that will never come to pass...