Some Georgia families are calling out Congressman Rich McCormick after he suggested that some children receiving free school lunches should get jobs instead.
✨ What’s Happening: During an interview on CNN, McCormick, a Republican from Georgia, defended a the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze federal aid, arguing that it would allow the government to reassess funding, including school meal programs. When asked whether he supported cutting free breakfast and lunch programs, he pivoted to the idea of young people working.
💬 What He Said: McCormick recalled working as a child, including picking berries and delivering newspapers before turning 13.
“Before I was even 13 years old, I was picking berries in the field, before child labor laws that precluded that. I was a paper boy, and when I was in high school, I worked my entire way through,” McCormick said. “You’re telling me that kids who stay at home instead of going to work at Burger King, McDonald’s, during the summer, should stay at home and get their free lunch instead of going to work? I think we need to have a top-down review.”
His comments quickly sparked backlash from educators, parents, and child welfare advocates who argue that school meal programs exist to ensure children are fed, not to replace jobs. Critics also pointed out that many low-income students come from households where parents already work multiple jobs to make ends meet.
Several critics also decried McCormick’s child labor law comments, believing he was calling for a rollback in child labor laws.
📝 McCormick’s Clarification: Following the backlash, McCormick told The Georgia Sun that his words were being misinterpreted. “Of course I don’t want the children to go hungry. My main point, that got lost on the false claims that the free and reduced lunches would be cut, is that I want to break the cycle of government dependance and poverty,” he said. “Many of our government programs are not effective at helping people out of poverty. Instead they keep people bound to the cycle of dependance rather than building independence. I want our next generation to achieve their fullest potential and I look forward to finding more effective and efficient ways to do that.”
💡 Why This Matters: In some Georgia school districts, over 90% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches under federal guidelines. Many families depend on these meals to ensure their children are properly nourished. Critics say McCormick’s comments fail to acknowledge the barriers many children face, including lack of transportation, age restrictions on employment, and already packed school and family responsibilities.
📖 A Closer Look at Child Labor Laws: In Georgia, as in most states, child labor laws restrict minors under 16 from working more than a certain number of hours during school days. The Fair Labor Standards Act also sets limits on hazardous work for minors and restricts employment in certain industries. While jobs like babysitting and part-time fast-food work are common among teens, requiring younger children to work instead of receiving assistance raises ethical and legal concerns and harkens back to the days when young children were forced to work in factories and in mining jobs, which is the reason we have child labor laws in the first place. The “good ‘ol days” weren’t universally good for everyone.
🥶 What About The Federal Aid Freeze: The back-and-forth over the aid freeze almost requires a scorecard to keep up with. Here are the highlights:
- Trump signed an executive order freezing all federal aid programs last week.
- The Office of Management and Budget sent a memo on Monday about the freeze and its implementation that left more questions than answers. In addition, Medicaid portals throughout the country went down.
- Later that day, a judge rescinded the freeze at least until Monday.
- The next day, the Trump administration rescinded the OMB memo that caused the confusion, but said the executive order was still in effect.
- The judge clarified that the aid freeze was still rescinded even with the memo being retracted.
🙌 Remember The Golden Rule: If you want to support food assistance programs in Georgia, consider donating to local food banks or contacting your school district to see how you can help. Regardless of your views of what the government should provide and where your tax dollars should be spent, you can still help others as an individual.
🇺🇸 About Representing You: This is an ongoing series of news stories devoted to how the officials elected and appointed to represent you are voting, how they are spending their time and your tax dollars, and allowing you to better determine if you feel they are actually representing you or their own interests.

B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.