
Three free meals available daily for any New Yorker - KoftaBob
http://schools.nyc.gov/freemeals
======
blisterpeanuts
The logistics behind this must be formidable. They would need hundreds of food
preparers, all of them tested daily for COVID-19 and of course practicing
strict hygiene in prep and packaging.

Still it's probably easier to control than thousands of separate restaurants
and food markets, which is undoubtedly their thinking: centralize food
distribution to minimize risky contact.

This is a sobering reminder of how dependent city dwellers are on a just-in-
time food distribution network; most Manhattan apartments don't have a lot of
storage space for an extended hunker down, nor room for a garden and chickens.

~~~
crazygringo
It's literally just all (or close to all?) existing public school cafeterias
staying open.

Same cafeteria workers as always, same types of menus.

The biggest change in logistics seems to be that all the meals are now to-go,
so goodbye trays, hello bags.

~~~
fart_ratty
Did public schools previously provide 3 meals a day?

~~~
9wzYQbTYsAIc
I remember even 20 years ago, it was guaranteed 2 and for certain cases ppl
would get an after school meal.

------
tren-hard
One of those things I wish could out last this virus.

We'd be so much better off as a society if we could at least keep our people
fed.

The comments in here seem a little negative currently but this is great news.
Think of all the people in NYC who didn't have access to clean and regular
food before the virus.

~~~
jsonne
As of 2018 40 million Americans received more than 57 billion dollars in SNAP.
It seems like largely the US has been and will continue to keep people fed.
Note also that this is just 1 Federal program and doesn't mention the
multitude of other state level and city level programs that exist as well as
private charities, religious organizations, etc.

Please note I am not saying the system is perfect, shouldn't be expanded, or
is beyond criticism in some way. I just think that a more nuanced conversation
is warranted if we're going to talk about these sorts of things.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplemental_Nutrition_Assista...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplemental_Nutrition_Assistance_Program)

~~~
alexgodin
The average SNAP recipient receives about $4 a day and sees their balance run
out after just 17 days.

This is not enough.

~~~
asdfasgasdgasdg
I don't think SNAP is supposed to always cover 100% of food expenses. If
you're near the cutoff point for benefits, you get some allowance, but you're
expected to cover some of the food cost from your income. You would of course
use your SNAP benefits first, since they are not fungible, so it is not
surprising that you would run out before the end of the month. This does not
mean that such households are unable to afford food for the remainder of the
month, it just means that they have to pay for it themselves.

I just went and put some really sad numbers into a calculator and it told me I
qualified for $500/mo in benefits for a family of three. This is definitely
sufficient to provide three nutritious meals per day for three people anywhere
in the country.

~~~
Justsignedup
That's the point. It should.

If we remove the fear of starvation (we can afford to feed everyone twice and
barely put a dent in our military budget) a lot of people will have a HUGE
improvement in their day-to-day happiness. This is one of those obvious huge
moral positives we can do.

The only "down side" is there will never be fear of starvation.

Edit: The one progress I can see in a society is when we can basically say
that certain problems that people may have... those problems just literally
won't exist.

\- basic housing

\- 3 meals a day

\- a basic level of health care

with the amount of cash flow in the US there shouldn't be a single person who
has to worry about one of those 3.

edit 2: I mean any person who "struggles with hunger" which is ~40 mil. Also,
that is in itself a terrifying number.

~~~
Cpoll
> If we remove the fear of starvation (we can afford to feed everyone twice
> and barely put a dent in our military budget)

327,000,000 people * 365 days * $5/person/day = $596,775,000,000 yearly Or
$596 billion

$693 billion is the Wikipedia number for DoD budget, so that actually checks
out.

Of course, that's more than "put a dent in the budget," but I'm sure you meant
those in need, and not _every_ American (which is the calculation I did).

~~~
thanksgiving
> but I'm sure you meant those in need, and not every American

I personally despise means testing. There has been so much hatred spewed over
"welfare queen" that I am amazed we still do means testing and we have pulled
it forward to things like the New York state Excelsior program (college
education for first-time college students) and even for the $1,200 COVID-19
stimulus. It is very sad. We don't less means testing, not more.

~~~
fires10
I despise means testing as well. I also believe the moral hazard argument is
over blown most of the time. I would like to see a guaranteed employer of last
resort that pays enough for someone to live. This employer (federal agency)
could adapt the work that is done to a situation. Provide opportunities for
retraining and so forth. This could also provide the psychological safety many
are in need of and reduce desperation. Means testing is expensive and causes
many to not get the help they need.

~~~
rapind
Agreed. "Job guarantee" program. There's a write-up here:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_guarantee](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_guarantee)

I also like the idea of UBI combined with a flat tax (losing progressive
taxation) for it's simplicity, but imagine all the tax lawyers and accountants
that would be out of a job.

~~~
epicureanideal
It seems like a Job Guarantee program would be something that both Democrats
and Republicans could support. I'm surprised it hasn't been done already
(other than in the Great Depression).

Questions...

1\. How would that program handle people who were unwilling to work? Possible
answer off the top of my head: maybe they get sent home or terminated from the
program for a period of time, and the pay for the "Job Guarantee" job would
need to be somewhat more desirable than the benefits received for not working
at all (assuming the person is capable of work).

2\. How would the program prevent managers with personal bias against
particular people on the Job Guarantee program dismissing them so they are
sent home to receive the lower paying "able bodied but unwilling to work" pay?
Possible solution: Any dismissal is time limited (or exponential, 1 day, 1
week, 1 month, then in yearly increments), and also the first 3-4 steps would
simply involve a transfer to a different manager. To reduce the likelihood of
bias, managers should be representative of the general population in any
potentially important characteristics such as gender, race, and also political
orientation (Democrat, Republican, or other).

3\. What would prevent minimum wage employees from moving to the government
jobs program instead? (I'm anticipating a potential Republican question.)
Possible answer: the pay would be lower.

4\. Does this create any kind of perverse incentives for the government or
corporations? "Well, we don't need to care about access to college, or jobs in
the US, because everyone has a guaranteed (below minimum wage) job".

~~~
Ericson2314
Jobs guarantee could be popular like awful "workfare", but it's oftenstill
stupidly resting on the assumption that full employment is good, and UBI
without full employment is inherently inflationary.

~~~
epicureanideal
I think a Jobs Guarantee would be a practical, possible-to-get-the-law-passed,
interim solution until UBI.

The main benefit of a Jobs Guarantee is it would be palatable to the 50ish% of
voters who are opposed to "handouts" without work. And in theory some of the
people who work at these jobs might have more self respect, and might maintain
good habits that would let them re-enter the regular workforce in time.

Now, if we did have a Jobs Guarantee and something like 25%+ of people were on
it, and there are just no jobs for these people to do even for the general
betterment of society at large without any profit motive, then that starts to
make a good argument for UBI rather than having people do useless work. Start
with letting people on the Jobs Guarantee or other jobs, "retire" at an
earlier and earlier age, and/or insert 1-2 months of vacation per year, and/or
reduce the number of days worked per week or the number of hours worked per
day to receive the benefits.

~~~
Ericson2314
That would be great. But it could also be that the privately-employed majority
makes the guaranteed jobs worse and worse over time.

I am hoping we get a non-means-tested corona $1000 after the shitty one, and
then things for UBI pick up for there. If we need a mix of UBI and JG for some
time, so be it.

------
cs702
This is wonderful to see and badly necessary, particularly in a country like
the US, where most people do not have ability to cover a $500 surprise bill in
normal times: [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/most-americans-cant-
handle-a-50...](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/most-americans-cant-
handle-a-500-surprise-bill/) \-- and we are definitely _not_ in normal times.

Kudos to the NYC administration for putting this together so quickly.

~~~
ikeboy
The data shows the median net worth is around 100k. I'm very suspicious of
claims about what the average American can afford based on surveys. Often they
ask people how they would pay for something, and if the answer is "credit
cards" they interpret it as that they can't afford it, which is plainly
nonsense.

Edit: took a look at your source.

>“The survey shows that a very significant minority of American households
apparently don’t have the resources to pay for an unexpected expense of around
$1,000,” says Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation
of America.

Interesting how this morphed into the claim that a majority of Americans can't
afford a $500 expense.

~~~
dmoy
What data shows median net worth around $100k? Does that include a house?

Median household savings discluding a house, at retirement age, is just barely
$100k (that is, enough to support retirement income above social security of a
wopping ~$5k/year).

~~~
ikeboy
Federal reserve including all assets and subtracting all debts.

If you owe 300k on your house that's worth 400k, you might have a liquidity
problem but you aren't poor.

~~~
mattkrause
"Liquidating" a house is slow and relatively expensive. You're probably losing
a decent chunk of that $100k if done in a rush (and of course, you need
somewhere else to live too).

Another chunk of that $100k is probably tied up in a car, which has the same
problems.

~~~
ikeboy
Sure, but credit is cheap and easy. You can get a HELOC easily.

------
1024core
San Francisco started this when it closed the school 3 weeks ago. Any adult
can walk up and pick up meals for themselves and their kids, no questions
asked.

~~~
pwaivers
Do you have a link for this? I see free meal for 18 and under in SF, but not
for adults also.

~~~
1024core
They don't ask for ID or proof of any kind.

[https://www.sfusd.edu/services/health-wellness/nutrition-
sch...](https://www.sfusd.edu/services/health-wellness/nutrition-school-meals)

------
yalogin
Wonder how they make the food? It’s a huge operation to undertake. A
logistical nightmare. How can they estimate how many people will show up and
how much to cook? Kudos to them to do this though.

~~~
beerandt
It's literally doing what they (school cafeterias) already were doing. It
would be harder logistically to have shut it down than doing what they're
doing now, having to lay off workers and cancel food contracts.

The cafeterias have an existing capacity and are likely just producing the
same amounts they usually do. They're able to give some away because it's not
likely that every student shows up everyday (or at all), so there's plenty of
excess.

It's a good use of existing resources, but nothing logistically impressive.

~~~
nojvek
Sure, they had the system in place but the fact that so many people are fed is
impressive (for free).

------
zxcvbn4038
Very awesome, not checking IDs so immigrant friendly. I think this is sorely
needed with as many people out of work, especially immigrant families that
aren’t getting stimulus checks, unemployment, mortgage moritiums, or any of
the other benfits.

------
ping_pong
This is great, but a sobering idea of how bad things really are. This sounds
like Great-Depression-like conditions and feels like a "Don't look behind the
curtains" moment as to how bad our economy really is for many, if not the
majority, of people.

~~~
seneca
How is responding to a less than once in a lifetime pandemic a condemnation of
the economy? The economy is largely shutdown.

------
flyGuyOnTheSly
So they're using the closed schools with their commercial kitchens to do this.
Interesting.

At first I was hoping that they had partnered with restaurants, but this is
pretty cool too.

------
observer987
This is a lifeline for workers who have been laid-off with no prospects of
getting back to work anytime soon. Unfortunately, this may be the new
normal...

~~~
observer987
Reminiscent of soup kitchens from the Great Depression.

~~~
vsareto
I'm really interested to see if organized crime would do similar things this
time around if they really declare a depression. I don't think they will.

------
astroalex
Someone has made a nicer map of where you can get meals:
[https://nycfreemeals.com/](https://nycfreemeals.com/)

~~~
gregsadetsky
Thanks, Alex. That site/map is by me.

It's a cached / high availability version of the "Meal Location Search" site.
As that site was crumbling under traffic (response times > 10s) and did not
have a map, I've decided to publish its data to GitHub and redo the site.
Above the map, there's a link that opens the map in the Google Maps app on
mobile.

The geocoded data is here: [https://github.com/gregsadetsky/nyc-free-meals-
covid](https://github.com/gregsadetsky/nyc-free-meals-covid)

Ping me for any questions / comments -- gs@gregsadetsky.com

I would love to make this nationwide. Where do we start?

------
ksj2114
This is a great program, but also it is so so sad that this needs to be
provided after 2 weeks of lock down. Really shows inequality in American
society

~~~
Theodores
"There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy"

\- New Yorker and investigative journalist Alfred Henry Lewis, some time in
1906.

In 'related searches':

every society is three meals away from chaos

mi5 four meals from anarchy

every society is three meals away from chaos lenin

the veneer of civilization is only nine hot meals deep

there are only nine missed meals between mankind and anarchy

So yeah. Two weeks in.

------
smoorman1024
I would be really interested to no what the cost of this program is. Even if
it's above a modest cost I think it's something the city should look into
providing going forward. We should consider providing basic services to all
our residents no questions asked starting with food and hygiene services. I
also think New York could be greatly improved by providing public bathrooms
and showers.

------
ebg13
But in order to get them you have to congregate. :\

~~~
kijin
Now would be the perfect time to start testing food delivery using drones.
Bonus points if the drones can be sprayed with disinfectant after each flight.

~~~
TulliusCicero
No, now would be a terrible time to start testing this.

Now would be a good time to ramp up deployment of such a program if it was
already consumer-ready, but testing? No.

------
weinzierl
We have sort of Meal Hubs ( _" Tafeln"_) here in Germany and from what I
heard, most of them closed because of fear they turn into virus hubs. Some
have recruited volunteers that deliver food to the doors but that doesn't help
the homeless.

------
205guy
This reminds me of the government run Amma Canteens in parts of India.
Interestingly, they are not free but very low cost: 5 rupees or $0.07 for a
plate of curry. Apparently this is 20-25% of the cost of equivalent food from
a private vendor.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amma_Unavagam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amma_Unavagam)

[https://www.thebetterindia.com/79947/low-cost-canteens-
amma-...](https://www.thebetterindia.com/79947/low-cost-canteens-amma-canteen-
annapurna-rasoi-india/)

------
blunte
I find it fascinating that it seems so many people are against (sometimes
vehemently) against others getting free food and shelter.

There is no excuse for a modern civilization to not ensure that everyone has
basic human needs met. Sure, we can argue some details like, "Is Netflix
really a basic human need?"... joking aside, we as humans should endeavor to
ensure that all people have their Maslow pyramid filled in.

~~~
hpoe
I want to help other people I donate a decent chunk of my paycheck to
humanitarian and other charitable efforts. I hate seeing people hungry, I grew
up in a difficult situation and I hate seeing children go hungry.

My problem isn't that I am against people getting free food and shelter I am
opposed to being forced into charity at the point of gun by the state, and my
liberties being eroded by moral busiebodies that fail to understand the very
things that led us have a society that even has the capability of eliminating
hunger are the very things they are trying to destroy.

Every advancement, every push for "just a little bit more welfare", or "think
of the children" has behind it the unspoken assumption that the government can
do a better job with my means to help people than I could. This same
government with a 13% approval rating and that is universally despised in most
everything they try and do.

Every inch of additional power that the government gets is an advancement that
is set in stone and can only be rewound with great effort.

So please don't paint me as an amoral monster, I do care, but I also recognize
that sometimes emotionally driven responses that are executed without much
thought and planning, like California banning plastic bags, can cause a lot
more harm than good, especially in the long run.

~~~
nexuist
> This same government with a 13% approval rating and that is universally
> despised in most everything they try and do.

Because there are many in and out of government that don't want the government
to do its job, so that they can point at ineffective government and say "look,
a private company [like mine wink wink nudge nudge] could do so much better
than that."

Have you noticed that it is only American government (outside of
dictatorships) that is highly despised by most of its citizens? Where is this
anger from European, Canadian, Asian, South American citizens towards their
governments? Could it be that those countries have a functional government
that, despite failing in some areas, overall exceeds in providing basic
necessities (i.e. healthcare) to its populace?

The idea that government will always fail is itself an unspoken assumption you
are making. It doesn't have to be that way. We could have an efficient
government if we wanted - the first step is to believe it's possible, like it
has been possible in 100+ other countries.

~~~
hpoe
I am not necessarily saying the government is doomed to failure, I just want
to remind people that when they believe the govt. intervening will solve
problems that they often are the cause of many problems as well.

As for your response that only the American government is highly despised by
it is citizens I have to disagree with that, in fact the one universal feature
I've found across all internet commentators, admittedly not a scientific
survey, is that they all complain about their government, UK, Brazilians,
Indians, in fact it often seems that the Chinese and the Russians are the
people who love their government the most.

Beyond the internet you can also check out the riots and protests France had
last year, generally not an example of people pleased with their government.

Ultimately however my argument against such was focused on a matter of
principle and philosophy; however I am a pragmatic person and recognize I live
in a real world and that compromise and discussion need to be had, I am
cautioning against the simplistic thinking that "hey lets start doing x, y, or
z to solve problem A, anyone who disagrees is a monster that hates people."

That kind of thinking leads to divisiveness, the Reds vs the Greens, shuts
down discussion and leads to scorched earth tribalism.

Which that was what I was originally responding to, is the idea that because I
have reservations around the idea of "just give everyone a house, food and
healthcare" I am a miserly scrooge mcduck that hates poor people.

~~~
nexuist
I don't think you're a bad person, or even poor that your philosophy is
entirely wrong, and I don't think you hate people. I do however think you and
I should focus on _improving_ government rather than _removing_ government -
for example, rather than saying we can't have a free lunch program, let's
figure out other places taxpayer money is being wasted, eliminate those leaks,
and use the money we get from that to fund this program. Let's automate as
many functions as we can (for example, online driver license renewal and mail-
in voting) to reduce the labor costs while reaching higher levels of efficacy.
These are just some examples, but I think there is an intrinsic part of your
argument - that government is the cause of problems - that assumes that _any_
action taken will have consequences that outweigh the good of the action. I
don't believe that is the case if we are truly attempting to solve the problem
and not, for example, just taking into consideration a set of KPIs.

------
billfruit
How does the logistics of it work out, they operate an industrial scale
kitchen is and ships food to various outlets.

If it is prepared seperately at different outlets, then how they ensuring
quality and standardization.

May not be distributing MRE / Refugee type rations be easier ?

~~~
greenyoda
They're using the existing food service facilities in the NYC public schools,
which are available since the schools are closed. The only difference is that
they're packaging the food for pickup/takeout.

------
Junk_Collector
I wonder why this is done through the Department of Education and if they will
continue such a program when schools are back in session. People normally
don't like a bunch of random adults hanging around schools.

~~~
dmwallin
Because the Department of Education has a ton of currently unused high
capacity kitchens and access to supplies. In addition the DOE runs similar
programs, such as a free summer lunch for kids, and so has the organizational
know-how to run a program of this scope.

~~~
Junk_Collector
Right, it all makes sense, I'm just curious about the process and long term
scope of the program. The official announcement that I am aware of is pretty
spartan.

It also shows the conflict of wanting to keep as many people employed/working
as possible while also wanting to keep people quarantined.

------
Havoc
That's a great initiative. Basic "you won't go to bed hungry" removes a major
stress factor from people's lives who are down on their luck

------
err4nt
This will undoubtedly help a lot of people - something worth emulating in
other places as well!

------
thekevan
Dammit, New York City is not all of New York! A "New Yorker" is anyone who
lives in the state, despite the claims that NYC lays on it.

I'm a New Yorker as New York is the state a live and a 7 hour drive from NYC.
Not that I was expecting the meals for myself, but the title would lead me to
believe people in my community could be helped.

~~~
identity0
You should be able to tell the difference between a New Yorker living in NYC
and a New Yorker living in NY state using the context. How do you expect 3
meals to be given to _anyone_ living in NY state? Will they ship the meals
using the postal service? Or is there a network of people giving out free food
in every little town in the state? Neither one is realistic.

Also, the website is literally "nyc.gov".

------
MKais
This is great. Paris is offering 2 free meals a day to people in need.
Delivered at home.

------
JackPoach
NYC today, everywhere else in a few days/weeks. Without universal basic
income, we are totally f@cked. 30-40% of people are without income and it's
either soup kitchens and spike in crime, or UBI.

~~~
nvahalik
> Without universal basic income, we are totally f@cked

UBI isn't a savior. UBI still requires that people, you know, pay taxes. If
30-40% of people have no income and are completely dependent upon the
government, then you have slavery 2.0 (3.0?) and you will end up creating a
worse, classed society than you had before: the ones receiving vs. those who
pay for what everyone else gets.

Or the government just prints money and money doesn't mean anything anymore
because the government controls what it is worth.

Either way things are not good, but they are not good in a way that just means
people starve, it means that the foundation of society is crumbling.

~~~
smooth_remmy
Taxing only the wealthiest americans could easily fund a UBI for everyone
else. The middle class will not have to make any sacrifices

~~~
umvi
And do said wealthiest Americans get a say? They are going to be kicking and
screaming (and rightfully so).

~~~
iron0013
They should get one vote per person, the same as anyone else. That that puts
them at a numerical disadvantage is their own fault for fostering economic
inequality in the first place.

~~~
umvi
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist
until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the
public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the
candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the
result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always
followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest
civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this
sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great
courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to
selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From
dependence back into bondage."

\--Alexander Fraser Tytler

s/public treasury/untapped wealthy individuals and corporations/g

Also, which step are we on? Seems like we are on the "From apathy to
dependence" stage.

------
jimmaswell
Misleading title - NYC residents only, or at least just a program inside NYC.
Typical hubris from NYC implying the rest of the state (where they get their
water from) doesn't exist.

------
wayanon
Fantastic and tragic at the same time.

------
nhlx2
I wish could be done in South Africa.

------
pgt
Wow, this is amazing.

------
rodneyg_
Great to see.

------
eyegor
Damn socialists trying to feed the hungry. Next they'll be trying to shelter
the poor, or heal the sick. In the richest country on earth, how can the
government possibly afford to take care of its own citizens?

/s

------
elwell
This is something that already existed I think.

~~~
greenyoda
The food pickup program existed for public school students ever since the
schools were closed. Now it's being extended to all NYC residents.

------
arbitrage
New York City, that is. Not New York State.

~~~
Zenst
Also no kosher option.

Still Halal and Vegetarian options available, so clearly some thought given
and overlooked.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_New_York_City](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_New_York_City)

~~~
fraktl
If I were given food for free when I have no food, I'd eat anything.

Not a New Yorker, was through war when I was a kid, speaking from experience.

~~~
Zenst
Yet they singled out one religious dietary requirements whilst ignoring a
whole demographic with a large populus and history of the area - colour me
perplexed.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews_in_New_York_City](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews_in_New_York_City)

Still, thank you for replying instead of blind downvote because antisemitisim
has many forms it seems, even here :(

[EDIT ADD] WOW this comment has gone up and down like crazy - was +4 few mins
ago, now -2 (as I type) - I'm stepping away from this forum for a bit as I do
not wish to draw sad conclusions that appear evident :((

~~~
calvinmorrison
> because antisemitisim has many forms it seems, even here :(

The Talmud describes plenty of instances when breaking the laws are the
correct thing to do in cases of life and death. Starvation being one of them.

~~~
Zenst
Yes, and also one of the few avenues of legal suicide in the UK and many
countries that do not easily or legally allow assisted suicide for those
wanting it to avoid further suffering.

------
londons_explore
Free food for all sounds more communist than capitalist...

Not necessarily bad, but there are all kinds of flaws with planned economies,
and if we slip into one without thinking what we're doing, we might repeat
mistakes of history.

------
numlock86
Can't wait for the pictures of overcrowded meal hubs on social media.

~~~
Zenst
Well, let's see. Certainly going to happen in one form or another, may have
organised spaced-out queue's at the locations but be bottlenecks getting there
I do suspect.

But gets down to the people acting responsibly in the end. You can lead a
horse to water but you just can't get them to queue in an orderly manner.

------
allochthon
Yikes. This vaguely reminds me of Frostpunk. Things must be getting pretty bad
in NYC.

~~~
onetimemanytime
cash in hand and/or packages with essentials is best, people will survive and
then some. This will help spread the disease.

~~~
jellicle
> packages with essentials

These are literally boxed meals. Packages...with essentials.

~~~
onetimemanytime
my point was the going out and assembling three times a day

~~~
wan23
Actually you only need to go once a day to get the three meals under this
program.

------
DonCopal
How are they going to check that you don't go multiple times?

Also, how are you going to prove how many children you have? So a father goes
first and says "give me meals for my 5 kids", then a mother goes a bit later
and says "meals for my 7 kids, please" and then a mother-in-law if she lives
with them can pick up some more.

~~~
Footkerchief
Why would someone go multiple times? Because they're still hungry? To resell
it to someone who... can also get free food?

~~~
DonCopal
To stock upon food to have available after the pandemic. Over many days you
could amass quite a lot.

~~~
heylook
Looking at the menus, it seems like they're generally serving quite low-cost
meals. I'm curious what the parameters of the cost-benefit would need to be
for it to make economic sense. How many people would need to "cheat" for how
many meals per day to make up for the operational cost of implementing a given
safeguard? How much food could a person stockpile before it starts going bad
more quickly than they can make some other use of it?

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jacksnipe
So those of us with severe, non-voluntary dietary restrictions are just SOL
huh?

~~~
tyingq
_" Vegetarian and halal options available at all sites"_

Doesn't solve every dietary restriction, but that's honestly more than I
expected to be available. It seems well thought out.

