My poor country (Moldova) just implemented free lunches for kids in primary and middle schools.
What is the reason US doesn’t have this already at federal level?
What is the reason US doesn’t have this already at federal level?
It is highly inefficient, but if you are on top of the wealth pyramid none of that matters to you. Average citizens however can't afford all of that.
Most of these programs are done state-by-state in the US. Because the US is so large, it takes a large amount of political willpower to push programs out at the federal level. Education is mostly handled on a state-by-state basis. The funding split is around 90%/10%, with 90% handled by the state and 10% federal. (That may be changing.)
As a rule of thumb, it makes more sense to compare countries in Europe against individual states in the US, rather than comparing countries to countries.
individualism; I think people in our crazy state of states tend to be only interested in what they want, and no other interests
But to have individualism for everybody, everybody needs to eat and have a dignified life.
Cutting less lucky people's food and healthcare for penny pinching, or worse religiously followed ideology isn't individualism. It is sadist selfishness. It kills individuality of large swaths of people for a tiny minority's extravagant and boringly repetitive habits.
Which is why I'm actually not sure why certain states don't do this. Like richer states like Maryland, Virginia, New York, California.
Not sure about other states, but...
All NYC public school students can have free meals[0]:
"New York City Public Schools offers free breakfast, lunch and afterschool meals to all NYC public school students during the school year."
As for NY State -- well, better late than never[1]:
"Universal School Meals: Governor Hochul Announces Free Breakfast and Lunch for More Than 2.7 Million Students in New York as Part of the 2025 State of the State"
To be fair, free and reduced price meals were already available across NY state, but with a means test[2]:
The School Breakfast and Lunch Programs are federal programs providing free,
reduced or full priced breakfast and lunch at participating schools
throughout New York State. In New York State the New York State Department of
Education administers these programs, and local schools operate the programs.
The meals are the same for all children regardless of payment category, and
schools are not permitted to identify students who get free or reduced-price
meals.
Eligibility Meal Categories Eligibility
Free Income up to 130% of poverty ($39,000 for a family of 4 annually)
Reduced (no charge to student) Income up to 185% of poverty ($55,500 for a family of 4 annually)
Full price* - paid by family Income over 185% of poverty ($55,500 for a family of 4 annually)
[1] https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/universal-school-meals-gove...
With four kids I've made a lot of lunches over the years.
More recently schools have started "nutrition club" kind of things for kids that fall through the cracks, but it is mostly just things like nutrigrain bars or apples.
So it kind of varies.
I don't want any child to go hungry, but it is unfortunate that school meal programs usually seem to involve prison-style terrible food. I did see a program on Italian lunch programs and that stuff was just amazing.
High school was like eating at a truck stop. But it did have a salad bar that was excellent, although myself and Lisa Simpson were the only students that used it.
Meanwhile in my quite red state, a family at the 20th percentile of household income with 1 kid will get $480 in food assistance per month, which is basically enough to afford groceries to stay afloat.
My son's school is private but has a "free lunch" program (apparently paid for out of grants and involving the local grocery store's deli); we send him with a lunch we pack ourselves because we prefer he not eat Goldfish and apple juice boxes every day.
It's always crazy to learn that you guys are so different from us when you dig into the details of things.