As a retired teacher, I have taught in schools where breakfast and lunch was served for free or at a reduced rate for kids families that just could not afford paying for it. This is a very important program. It's next to impossible to teach a child if he/she is hungry. I have paid for many meals for students that could not afford it, never once asking to be paid back. When I saw a hungry child, I couldn't help but think about how it was for me as a child when I had to go to school hungry because I had no money to pay for lunch or free lunch. For some these are the only real meals they will receive for the day. So it is up to the schools to fill that gap.