>the kid doesn’t go hungry, the kid gets a sandwich instead of an institutional pizza slice. Unless it's gotten a lot better from when I was in grade school, t

>the kid doesn’t go hungry, the kid gets a sandwich instead of an institutional pizza slice. Unless it's gotten a lot better from when I was in grade school, the "alternative meal" was the bare minimum they could get away with (it was a piece of white bread with cheese, although it sounds like now the standard is a seed-butter sandwich). It doesn't exist to feed the kid, it exists to shame them, and any nutrition provided is a happy coincidence. I had to get it once as a kid (although my parents didn't get a bill) and it was too embarrassing to even eat. Even at a table with all your friends you feel like an outsider through no fault of your own.