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The best argument against universal free school meals is seeing what they put in them
They seem to at least be OK in Minnesota, and even if they're not great, they beat the nothing that some families provide at home or send kids to school with.
Do we really think it lowers grocery prices long-term? If you lower demand for groceries, the market will just lower the supply.
Not saying I am against universal school lunch but I'm not sure the grocery argument works.
It works because of how grocery chains do pricing: they use uniform prices over different geographic areas, and they lower prices according to aggregate CEP exposure rather than local CEP exposure.
Unless they develop more tailored local pricing, it should work long-term.
I’d support it if they didn’t dish up crap for kids and actually provided healthy meals.
Even if you believe school meals to be subpar compared to what mom could whip up, the alternative for many kids is, unfortunately, no meals.
This isn't about the government providing something at a lower cost than the private sector, it's about the government footing the bill for something all public school students are exposed to already.
Is there generally evidence that welfare programs like this work better when goods are directly provided, rather than funds intended to purchase said goods?
In many cases, cash transfers beat these sorts of in-kind redistributive programs, but cash transfers are harder to justify. This is easy to justify, impossible to be misused, and more, making it appealing, even to those generally opposed to welfare.
Doubt they will be widely implemented because of "Cut expensive means-testing bureaucracy"
Minnesota did it, proving it can be done in a blue state. Since red staters tend to be even more opposed to bureaucrats, I don't doubt it's possible there either.
Free lunch frees us from having to think about lunch money / lunch every day.
NYC has breakfast in some schools. Makes life easier for high income folks. Non means tested benefits so much better
I am for this. We shouldn’t be nickel-and-diming parents for lunch money or making mom get up and pack a lunch (or dad, in exceptional cases). That’s just a burden. Let’s feed them healthy food at school.
We had a free universal hot lunch program at my elementary school when I was growing up. I think for some of the kids, it was the only solid meal they ate each day.
I'm in favour of this.
My objection to this is almost entirely due to the possibility of it being federally funded. If each state has a state-funded free lunch program, it’s fine.
But EVERY federally funded program comes with strings attached, which bureaucrats and politicians will use to impose rules
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I didn’t know they lower grocery prices for everyone! I’d assume they’d increase them 
Let’s go!!!!
Let’s go!!!!
I know kids from chaotic families that are on their own to eat breakfast and make a lunch. Often they don’t bc they are kids. Getting free breakfast and lunch at school (when social services hand held the parents through the application process) was a huge boost. It isn’t always
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The idea that even the most low-income family that is sending their kids to public school can't afford a couple of eggs and a piece of toast each morning will never not sound completely absurd to me.
Same with a bologna sandwich for lunch.
If they're the school meals of France, Italy, or South Korea, sure.
If they're the current and standard American school meals. Um, no.
Suppose you are leading a well-connected corporation/industry/NGO.
1. Identify a supposed public need.
2. Lobby government to spend on it.
3. Get the spending to flow through you.
4. Skim most of it, deliver the least possible service.
Part of you argument sounds like Upton Sinclair in "The Jungle".
Paraphrasing, he said that shoes are expensive because everyone is wearing different types of shoes. If the gov mandates everyone wear the same shoes, we will not have anyone without shoes. Isn't that great.
The food is terrible. The students are just vectors for cronies to pocket government funds.
One problem is it increases government ability to poison people and subsidize corrupt companies like Monsanto, Nestle, Bill Gates Inc etc while making healthy food less available.
What if the meals are terrible and kids don't eat them because of typical compromises needed for all stakeholders to come together on this
Serious question. I dreaded school meals growing up. I was delighted to get privileges to go to local restaurants during lunch hour
Our district went universal free lunch and they saved money at 7 of 8 schools. It costs a lot to staff and support collecting $3 from a thousand kids in an hour.
We believe that freedom starts from within. By liberating our members from the cost and stress of traditional healthcare, WeShare provides the freedom to enjoy everything that makes life great.
It may be cheaper in many cases to provide the meal for free than to set up a system for the families to pay, and pursue nonpaying families.
Government buying programs tend to stimulate wholesale prices. In theory, they're a boon for farmers too, but these days, it probably all goes to processors and distributors.
Another potential benefit: reduce truancy because it gives poor parents a reason to make sure their kids get to school.
I covered k12 in Philly for years; we have universal meals & the thing i learned is, educators *love* it. Simpler to run, no stigma for free-lunch kids, and… everybody eats!! And fed kids learn better. Fed kids make a better school community. Fed kids *come to school.*
True, in India as well mid day school meals in government schools promoted much greater student admission and attendance for the underprivileged, better nutrition leading to mental and physical development as well. It was replicated from a single state to national level then.
We believe that freedom starts from within. By liberating our members from the cost and stress of traditional healthcare, WeShare provides the freedom to enjoy everything that makes life great.
School lunches are awful more often than not. Great source of misery and corruption. But it's still might be net positive, yes.
My wife works in a poor school. Lots of kids don't eat. Pizza is generally horrible. Hamburgers. Gross. They love chicken nuggets and nachos.
Maybe they should try harder if they are going to do this.
"To be sure, MY’s results might mask some downsides of CEP, but what those are isn’t clear."
Downsides: subsidizes drug habits, splits families, saps individual responsibility, undermines private schools, etc. I don't think the costs have been sufficiently explored.
Grew up with free lunch and morning snacks for grades kindergarten to 6th grade. This was before the republicans cut taxes for corporations.
Except that it uses the full might of the state to forcefully take from one person and give it to another. Establish a free lunch program and have people donate to it. I would support that.
I would still prefer schools to be operated by charities rather than governments who simply use them to employ leftists and propagandize children.
Of course giving poor people food instead of cash had better outcomes because they can't be trusted with money.
Don't breed em if can't feed em 
Era of good feelings is over
Era of good feelings is over
You've got far too much faith in the government.
Every gvmt program is a disaster, is ruined by corruption, and make the problem worse.
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