Reply #142: Good article, and here is the important point: [View All]

[bobbolink]

"The French program is also "universal": virtually all students eat the school-provided lunch, and families pay "what they can afford." I would argue that it's the universal nature of the benefit that keeps the quality high, since everyone has a stake in the program: it's not perceived as just serving the poor or -- even worse it seems, if Post comments are representative -- minorities."

That is really what makes the difference. There is a woman in the U.S. who is making the case for universal school lunches for this very reason!

Should School Lunch be Free for All? Janet Poppendieck Thinks So
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/regina-weiss/should-school-lunch-be-fr_b_791425.html