By Dana Woldow
Wouldn’t it be great if many good causes – feeding hungry kids, organic farming, fighting global warming, growing small local businesses – could all be supported by school meal programs? In a perfect world, every worthy goal could benefit from these government funds. In the real world, underfunding of school meals by Congress means that schools must prioritize to ensure scarce resources are going towards feeding the most kids, and that means student needs trump other noble causes.
How does this prioritizing work? Think of a field archery target; the yellow bulls-eye carries the highest score. Additional concentric rings – red, blue, black and white – encircle the bulls-eye, gaining in size, but lessening in importance, as they move further from the center.