You could similarly argue that by reducing Social Security & non-school-lunch welfare spending, the school-lunch programme could be increased.
You're also begging the question of whether or not providing lunches to schoolchildren is a federal responsibility. Reading the list of enumerated powers of the United States[0] it really isn't, unless you squint really hard and figure that it's necessary & proper to provide school lunches in order to 'raise & support Armies,' since malnourished children won't grow up to be good soldiers. But if that's the case … then the school lunch programme is part of the defence budget!
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enumerated_powers_(United_Stat...
It might be lower than tat some points in the past, but that is great. Just like it's great that a smaller share of our population is engaged in agriculture than in the past: resources are free for other pursuits.
> (this means that other nations are spending far less than they need to).
Or, it means that civilization is advancing , and the needed level as a share of total output is declining.
> You're also begging the question of whether or not providing lunches to schoolchildren is a federal responsibility. Reading the list of enumerated powers of the United States[0], unless you squint really hard and figure that it's necessary & proper to provide school lunches in order to 'raise & support Armies,' since malnourished children won't grow up to be good soldiers.
Actually, there's a much better argument for federal involvement in funding and prescribing anything attached to public education including school lunches in the militia clause, if you insist on seeing it through a military lens rather than a commercial one.
(so all the percentages are reasonable)
Why stop at measly taxation of consumption or teaching programs?
Let's progress and go further and simply be the Societal Parent by storing the children units in a controlled environment where they'll only receive information and norms deemed by teeming experts to be beneficial to them or everyone. We could call it the Hatchery and Conditioning Centre.
What's really needed is a societal change with how food is treated. Someone else mentioned a tax on sugar and processed foods, which could help. But another big step would be trying to teach students about nutritious food and living a healthy lifestyle. Of course, it's difficult if the school is the only place they see this, but I don't think it would hurt to have more outlets for healthy living in a student's life.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_... [2] https://www.cbo.gov/publication/50737 [3] http://markbittman.com/health-vs-profits-in-school-lunches/