My teenaged kid’s school has free lunch for all students. I often offer to pack a lunch for my kid, but they decline. If they don’t want me to, I won’t, and I like that my kid taking a lunch defuses the stigma of “poor” kids taking a free lunch.

Broadly, there is a lot of food insecurity, especially in big cities, so cafeteria food may be the only meal some kids get. In the US, many school districts also send home backpacks stuffed with nonperishable food for the holiday breaks, and summer lunch programs are offered. The decision to close school for inclement weather also involves deciding if some kids wont get to eat that day. So fortunate is my family that we dont have to worry about that.