--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Growing up poor, I didn't even have a…" description: "\"Growing up poor, I didn't even have a lunch to take to school. Lunch was 26 cents, and we didn't even know what 26 cents looked like. I didn't love sch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/george-foreman-2028_because_growing-up-poor-i-didn-t-even-have-a-lun_1292099.png" --- # Growing up poor, I didn't even have a lunch to take to… ![“Growing up poor, I didn't even have a lunch to take to school. Lunch was 26 cents, and we didn't even know what 26 cents looked like. I didn't love school because I wanted to disguise that I was poorer than everybody else.” quote by George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/george-foreman-2028_because_growing-up-poor-i-didn-t-even-have-a-lun_1292099.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/george-foreman-2028_because_growing-up-poor-i-didn-t-even-have-a-lun_1292099.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/george-foreman-2028_because_growing-up-poor-i-didn-t-even-have-a-lun_1292099.png) > “Growing up poor, I didn't even have a lunch to take to school. Lunch was 26 cents, and we didn't even know what 26 cents looked like. I didn't love school because I wanted to disguise that I was poorer than everybody else.” [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes poverty's impact on school experience and self‑image. **In simple terms:** Poverty made school uncomfortable and hidden. Key Takeaway Address stigma and support low‑income students. Themes poverty education self‑esteem Mood empathetic concerned Type educational social When to use this quote - school meals - student counseling - community aid Key Concepts socio‑economic disparity psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can schools reduce stigma? - What resources help hidden poverty? A Different Perspective May generalize all poor experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disguise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disguise/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [School lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-lunch/) ## Related quotes > [Growing up poor, I didn't even have a lunch to take to school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/growing-up-poor-i-didn-t-even-have-a-lunch-to-take-to-school/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [“We have lunch at ten-forty-five,” Colin said. A stupidly early lunch. At our school, the older you get, the stupider your lunch period.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/we-have-lunch-at-ten-forty-five-colin-said-a-stupidly-early-lunch-at/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [I remember very vividly being little and bringing my lunch to school and taking out what was my to-die-for treats from home, whether it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-wu/i-remember-very-vividly-being-little-and-bringing-my-lunch-to-school/) [Michelle Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-wu/) > [Nutritious meals, including lunch in school, and daily physical exercise, are essential for children and adolescents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cuomo/nutritious-meals-including-lunch-in-school-and-daily-physical/) [Margaret Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cuomo/) > [Given the choice, I'm sure the majority of children would rather have a packed lunch than school meals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-coren-mitchell/given-the-choice-i-m-sure-the-majority-of-children-would-rather-have/) [Victoria Coren Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-coren-mitchell/) > [I didn't love school because I wanted to disguise that I was poorer than everybody else. So when I was a teen I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/i-didn-t-love-school-because-i-wanted-to-disguise-that-i-was-poorer/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [Until these college students came into town, we were all very poor and didn't have money to do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-durango/until-these-college-students-came-into-town-we-were-all-very-poor-and/) [Santiago Durango](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-durango/) > [Growing up, we weren't poor, but we didn't have money to spare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-reeves/growing-up-we-weren-t-poor-but-we-didn-t-have-money-to-spare/) [Rachel Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-reeves/) > [“A poor child knew what it meant to be poor. We didn't ask for much, and sometimes we didn't even ask.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/da-chen/a-poor-child-knew-what-it-meant-to-be-poor-we-didn-t-ask-for-much-and/) Da Chen > [I came from a social background in Brazil that is very poor. We didn't have anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar/i-came-from-a-social-background-in-brazil-that-is-very-poor-we-didn-t/) [Oscar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar/) > [One thing my mom didn't want any of us to do was to cry or to complain about life. Every day and night, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riccardo-tisci/one-thing-my-mom-didn-t-want-any-of-us-to-do-was-to-cry-or-to/) [Riccardo Tisci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riccardo-tisci/) > [Since the whole village was poor, we didn't realize our own poverty. I was happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bidzina-ivanishvili/since-the-whole-village-was-poor-we-didn-t-realize-our-own-poverty-i/) [Bidzina Ivanishvili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bidzina-ivanishvili/) > [Growing up low income and poor, I didn't have the best relationship with money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-b/growing-up-low-income-and-poor-i-didn-t-have-the-best-relationship/) [Lil B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-b/) > [“When I was poor, I didn't know how big the world was and what a man's life could be. I was too ignorant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-coffman/when-i-was-poor-i-didn-t-know-how-big-the-world-was-and-what-a-man-s/) Ken Coffman > [I grew up poor, but I didn't have poor dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magic-johnson/i-grew-up-poor-but-i-didn-t-have-poor-dreams/) [Magic Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magic-johnson/) ## More by George Foreman > [Money is a good thing, but every morning you have to get up with something no one else in the world gets up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/money-is-a-good-thing-but-every-morning-you-have-to-get-up-with/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [I love the pigeons. I just raise them, period, and feed them. Pigeons go away, and they always come back. You get a touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/i-love-the-pigeons-i-just-raise-them-period-and-feed-them-pigeons-go/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [I wanted to be champ of the world, but I kept hoping something would happen to Frazier. I didn't want to fight him. Nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/i-wanted-to-be-champ-of-the-world-but-i-kept-hoping-something-would/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [A boxer never sees the big one that hits him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/a-boxer-never-sees-the-big-one-that-hits-him/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [The question isn't at what age I want to retire, it's at what income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/the-question-isn-t-at-what-age-i-want-to-retire-it-s-at-what-income/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [Everybody wants to be somebody. The thing you have to do is give them confidence they can. You have to give a kid a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/everybody-wants-to-be-somebody-the-thing-you-have-to-do-is-give-them/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [I wanted to be the best street fighter in Houston, Texas. And I thought if I got a trophy or two, I'd go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/i-wanted-to-be-the-best-street-fighter-in-houston-texas-and-i-thought/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [The wealthy class often looks down on the poor as "those people." And deprived people view the rich as cold and heartless. The way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/the-wealthy-class-often-looks-down-on-the-poor-as-those-people-and/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [Preaching is the most original thing I've ever done. There's nothing familiar about it. You have to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/preaching-is-the-most-original-thing-i-ve-ever-done-there-s-nothing/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [Oh, there's nothing more dangerous in life at getting hurt at than love itself. People are hurt in love affairs and never recover, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/oh-there-s-nothing-more-dangerous-in-life-at-getting-hurt-at-than/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [If you can maintain that integrity in whatever you do, you can't go wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/if-you-can-maintain-that-integrity-in-whatever-you-do-you-can-t-go/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [Let the other guy have whatever he wants before the fight. Once the bell rings he's gonna be disappointed anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/let-the-other-guy-have-whatever-he-wants-before-the-fight-once-the/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [I feel that I had been rescued from the gutter by America. One day I was under the gutter, chased by police, thinking dogs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/i-feel-that-i-had-been-rescued-from-the-gutter-by-america-one-day-i/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [If you want it, leave your excuses behind and come and get it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/if-you-want-it-leave-your-excuses-behind-and-come-and-get-it/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [The greatest asset, even in this country, is not oil and gas. It's integrity. Everyone is searching for it, asking, 'Who can I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/the-greatest-asset-even-in-this-country-is-not-oil-and-gas-it-s/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) [Explore all 190 George Foreman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) ## More Because quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. 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I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [I was also known as Frodo because I was an early adopter of 'The Lord of the Rings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-was-also-known-as-frodo-because-i-was-an-early-adopter-of-the-lord/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. 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