PROVIDING FREE SCHOOL MEALS TO WEALTHY STUDENTS DOES NOT HELP CHILDREN IN NEED.

Under this provision, a school could have zero students from low-income families and offer taxpayer-funded meals to all their middle- and upper-income students because of the economic status of students enrolled in neighboring schools. Policies that expand student eligibility for federal school meals require taxpayers from different income levels to pay for free school meals for students from middle- and upper-income homes. The notion that expanded eligibility would eliminate local school meal debts is an economic fallacy - permanently expanding student eligibility simply shifts local school meal debts, generally caused by parents not paying for school meals, from local and state taxpayers to federal taxpayers. [Extracted from the article]