My school district found it cost more in administrative overhead to determine who was eligible for free lunch and who wasn’t than it was to simply offer it to everyone. We ended up with something resembling the UK medicine model where the basic offering was free to all and “upgrades” were available for a cost. In many students minds, the upgrades sucked. The “rich” kids brought lunch from home.
My school district found it cost more in administrative overhead to determine who was eligible for free lunch and who wasn’t than it was to simply offer it to everyone. We ended up with something resembling the UK medicine model where the basic offering was free to all and “upgrades” were available for a cost. In many students minds, the upgrades sucked. The “rich” kids brought lunch from home.
Come to think of it, the administrative cost is probably what’s driving this movement. Gotta get that money in government contracts.