School-provided lunches have existed in the US for about 130 years, if you count the early days when private welfare groups handled the gig. School lunches have never been paused since they started, but the impetus for providing them has varied widely. (And they're the reason "white people food is bland" is such a compelling concept.)

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Sources:

Foodtimeline.org 

New York Times 

Pacific Standard magazine 

National Education Association 

US Government Accountability Office (PDF)

School Lunch Politics: The Surprising History of America's Favorite Welfare Program 

97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement 

Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet 

Feeding the Family 

The American and His Food 

Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in America 

Related Episodes/Articles:

Breadlines and Famines with Jeremy Bowditch

The Settlement Cook Book

Prison Food with Danny Trejo

Music: Dead Kennedys - A Growing Boy Needs His Lunch 

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