BenK…………
I’m older, live OOT, my children are all older, my grandchildren attend day school OOT>>>BUT
I’ve been on the Board of Day Shools and Yeshivos for decades.
There are certain foods that they can receive as surplus from the US Dept of Agriculture to use for to feed students. NOT all students meet the Government requirements for ‘free lunch’ and the school would have to charge others.
The local day school all my kids went to switched to a catering company when it became cheaper than cooking in the school. The days of one bubbe manning the school kitchen are gone. Now with local health department inspections, schools required to have their staff graduates of a ServSafe program, salary and benefits for the employees, costs of kitchen equipment, washing equipment and plates, cutlery, etc. Government nutritional requirements on the ,eal served (whole grains, lo or no fat milk, veg and fruit servings. Problems that the Govt. surplus food may have a hechsherf that the school admin won’t use. We found it much cheaper to have a catering company bring in meals in disposable trays that simply need to be heated and everything gets tossed in the trash each day, no washing anything,