Because the US is run by wealthy people and highly corrupt. If it isn't a problem for those with money, nothing will change. Look at all the major problems the US has and nearly every one of them can be easily walked around if you have a lot of money. Expensive healthcare? Well I got money. Overzealous police force? Well in an expensive neighborhood cops don't dare harass/extort random citizens. Harsh and exploitive justice system? Money will bleed to courts dry until they give up. Shitty local schools? Private education. Shitty infrastructure? Buy large SUV and generator. Polluted water? You can get good water delivered or run a whole-house reverse osmosis system.
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.
If Moldova were a US state, it would be the 35th largest state, by population.
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.
There's a significant number of people in the US who view any safety net as a handout and don't want others to get something for free that they themselves aren't getting.
Same reason they have expensive university, extremely expensive healthcare, for profit prisons, etc, I guess. There's a dog-eat-dog mentality over there which is quite puzzling to us Europeans.
In the US, schools are managed at the state level, not the federal level. There are occasional grants given to states to run certain school programs, but states really run the show.
Which is why I'm actually not sure why certain states don't do this. Like richer states like Maryland, Virginia, New York, California.
>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)
Very little at primary school level is controlled federally. It’s mostly state and school district based. That has both good and bad ramifications but it’s just how it is.
My rich country that is often accused of "socialism" (Canada) has no real lunch program at any school level. Kids pack and bring their own lunch, though a lot of high schools have a bespoke cafeteria where you can buy some fries or a burger, it operates more like a restaurant than a meal plan, and elementary/middle schools don't have kitchens at all.
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.
I am in the states, my elementary school had excellent cooked food, the middle school was slightly less good, but it had a great salad bar.
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.
I have the same observation in Canada. There seems to be way less "benefits" in terms of things like the food stamps program in America. I am a bit appalled at the situation with some acquaintances of mine in Ontario who simply struggle to afford food each month; they don't make a great deal of money but they just do not qualify for any assistance. Food banks are not well stocked either.
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.
tarxvf|10 months ago
AngryData|10 months ago
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.
klodolph|10 months ago
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.
healsdata|10 months ago
boxed|10 months ago
compootr|10 months ago
individualism; I think people in our crazy state of states tend to be only interested in what they want, and no other interests
atonse|10 months ago
Which is why I'm actually not sure why certain states don't do this. Like richer states like Maryland, Virginia, New York, California.
throwaway7783|10 months ago
gensym|10 months ago
nobody9999|10 months ago
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]:
[0] https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/food[1] https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/universal-school-meals-gove...
[2] https://otda.ny.gov/workingfamilies/schoollunch.asp
rdtsc|10 months ago
llm_nerd|10 months ago
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.
sitkack|10 months ago
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.
trollbridge|10 months ago
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.
Suppafly|10 months ago
It's always crazy to learn that you guys are so different from us when you dig into the details of things.
unknown|10 months ago
[deleted]
ipsum2|10 months ago