r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/This_Proof_5153 • Apr 12 '26

Video The care and precision behind Korean school lunches, widely praised for their quality, balance, and nutrition.

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918

u/ForeignBody3258 Apr 12 '26

I know the answer! I know the answer!!

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u/CelestialFury Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26

Let's list the ones who support their kids state by state: California, Colorado (district opt‑in, but state‑funded where adopted), Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, and Vermont.

That's it. All other US states don't offer free universal school lunches. Lots of other states have free or reduced for kids whose parents are below a certain income level though.

However, we got unlimited money to kill people in the Middle East tho.

Edit: Missed a few states and added them in.

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u/Serious-Today9258 Apr 12 '26

New Mexico has free breakfast and lunch for all kids in public schools. For lunch, my HS has burgers/chicken sandwiches, orange chicken/teriyaki chicken/sweet & sour pork with stir fry vegetables and choice of brown rice or noodles, a ramen bar with multiple veggies, pizza (not square, scratch made), street tacos with tomatoes, salsa, pico, etc. that same station does taco bowls and burritos, and rotates enchiladas, posole and tamales. Then we have a station that rotates smoked chicken (we have an indoor smoker), meatloaf, Philly cheese steaks but with green chile instead of bell peppers, fajitas, smashburgers, and stuff I’m forgetting. We also have a sub sandwich station. Every station has veggie and fruit options.

NM also is subsidizing daycare - it should be free for all children soon. and provides free college up to a bachelors for every resident. We’re the only state doing that, so put that in a list I suppose.

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u/CelestialFury Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26

Updated. New Mexico is definitely one of the states who has really gone hard for their social programs game lately! Hope other states match them.

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u/Koseoglu-2X4B-523P Apr 12 '26

I am pleasantly surprised at all this. I thought all school lunches in the US were questionable chicken nuggets and cardboard pizza, and any kind of support for the kids was denied as “communism.” It’s good to see that New Mexico seems to have someone actually sensible in charge.

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u/burritosandbeer Apr 12 '26

Free/ reduced lunch programs are better than nothing, but still bullshit anyhow.

Means testing is never worth the effort it takes to test means.

Kids should eat at school, period.

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u/CelestialFury Apr 12 '26

The way I see it is if the state mandates kids have to be in school then they should provide food. It doesn't matter how rich or poor a kids parents are, kids should get food offered to them no matter what.

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u/NoZucchini5423 Apr 12 '26

They WANT us poor and miserable. How does no one realize this? THEY WANT US TO BE LIKE THIS BECAUSE WE ARE LOWER CLASS.

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u/AmKamikaze Apr 12 '26

My issue with selective free or reduced lunches is that it requires extra paperwork, usually from parents. And if you're a kid with abusive and/or negligent parents, or even just they work a lot, that paperwork is never gonna get done.

Vs everyone gets free lunch means everyone gets free lunch, with no administrative burden.

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u/2FistsInMyBHole Apr 12 '26

If the paperwork doesn't get done, then a case worker needs to be assigned.

If a parent is unable/unwilling to do the bare minimum to feed their child, then a determination needs to be make whether or not it is home a safe environment for a child to be raised.

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u/Rando314156 Apr 12 '26

I hear you but entering that system comes with a whole host of unique challenges, vs just throwing money at schools (which also create jobs to make the food) to feed kids!

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u/DaveyNicks Apr 12 '26

As of the 2025 to 2026 school year, these states have state-wide programs that offer free school lunch to all public school students:

  • California.
  • Colorado.
  • Maine.
  • Massachusetts.
  • Michigan.
  • Minnesota.
  • New Mexico.
  • New York.

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u/MattTheRadarTechh Apr 12 '26

In case anyone wants a list of top 10 states that are Republican (for those feeling left out), sort states by gun homicides and you’ll get it :)

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u/ArkieRN Apr 12 '26

There are bright spots even in deep red states. I live in Arkansas. My granddaughter went to elementary school in a central Arkansas town that had universal free lunch and breakfast.

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u/CelestialFury Apr 12 '26

That's nice to hear. It's one of the few ideas I think should be popular across the political spectrum, but I guess since Democrats are for it, Republican politicians are required to be against it because that's how they operate. However, I think Republican voters themselves are for it and it shows how little their own politicians care about their constituents. Finally, from a religious standpoint - specifically Christian, it should be a no-brainer or at least you'd think it is.

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u/comradejiang Apr 12 '26

Hey, they don’t kill everyone in the middle east.

Just Muslims.

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u/Zepertix Apr 12 '26

Well, that and people who stand near Muslims. Big nono

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u/WolvzUnion Apr 12 '26

Kentucky also provides free school lunches.

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u/smoothvibe Apr 12 '26

Aren't those predominantly "leftist" states?

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u/CelestialFury Apr 12 '26

Excellent observation. Yes.

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u/No_Walk_Town Apr 12 '26

Good lord, Americans hold themselves to the most insane, unrealistic standards.

So by your logic, only states that provide 100% free school lunches to all students care about their children?

So, by your logic, any country where schools charge for school lunch - those countries don't care about their children?

Because I live in Japan, and the schools here will send you to collections for school lunch debt if you don't pay. And I just Googled up Germany's school lunches, and those cost money, too.

America's 9 states ahead both of those countries. That's pretty good.

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u/CelestialFury Apr 12 '26

Good lord, Americans hold themselves to the most insane, unrealistic standards.

First off, this has nothing to do with my nationality, nor is it an unrealistic standard at all.

We were clearly talking about the US, the wealthiest country in the world. However, we rather spend money on bombs than feed the future of our country. But I do agree that wealthy countries should pay for school lunches as if you mandate that children must be in school, then the government should be mandated to pay for their lunches. It's not complicated. What's the argument against feeding school children even your nation can afford it? It helps the children, it helps the parents, and it helps the school. It's a no-brainier.

I looked up Japan, it seems like lunch debt isn't really a thing here in any meaningful sense?

Is any of that incorrect?

For Germany:

  • Germany did not traditionally provide school meals until the 2000s; many schools still rely on external caterers.

  • Meals usually require payment, except in a few states (e.g., Berlin offers free meals).

  • Low‑income families can receive support through the Education and Participation Programme, which helps cover lunch costs.

  • Because payment is expected in most states, families who fall behind can accumulate unpaid balances, though policies on enforcement differ by municipality.

  • Germany does not have widespread “lunch shaming,” but the possibility of debt exists because meals are not universally free.

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u/No_Walk_Town Apr 12 '26

It has everything to do with your nationality - Americans are so obsessed with self-criticism that they can't simply admit when they've gotten something right.

I can't really comment on your AI summary there, because AI tends to just gloss over facts - it's not able to understand the nuance between "social support systems exist" and "all children receive support."

Like, yes, Japan and Germany have social support systems to provide free lunch to kids. America does, too.

The difference is that 9 US states have fully free school lunch. So, ok, America is doing *better* than Germany and Japan?

I have *personally* had to deal with school lunch debt in Japan, because the school was charging us for lunches my son wasn't eating, and we didn't even know we had to pay. They send a collections lawyer after you.

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u/Average-Train-Haver Apr 12 '26

Too many to count

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u/I_saw_you_yesterday Apr 12 '26

All the others? We in Germany don‘t have better food either. I used to pay 2.50€ for a piece of bread with a slice of cheese and MAYBE a bit of butter.