In bygone days schoolchildren would be seen at midday with their tin lunch pails or strolling home from neighbourhood schools to eat with their families. But suburban sprawl means that most of the 50 million children attending US public schools today live too far from school to safely walk home at lunchtime. Even if they lived nearer and could walk home, parents and caregivers must work long days. They cannot be home to cook.

School hours are stretching earlier and later, too, meaning that many students need to eat both breakfast and lunch on campus. In fact, with a shocking 12 million children living in food insecurity, the cafeteria is a critical tool in providing comfort and nutrition to poor families. Dinner might not be on the table when they get home.