After privatization, not only are students eating more of the meals on their trays, but more of the kids are buying meals. In Woonsocket, for instance, where more than 77 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, participation has soared under Marriott's direction. Woonsocket is the rule, not the exception. In Providence, where more than 70 percent of the students receive free or reduced-price meals, participation has increased 22 percent since a private vendor took over the cafeterias. And wealthy school districts, like North Smithfield, have recorded 25 percent more students eating school lunches since the state system folded.
Greater participation seems to improve discipline during the once-raucous lunch period.
Woonsocket's Caparco says that the time his office spends handling discipline problems has been cut by about 20 percent. Your Way Ruth Eshelman, a nutrition professor at the University of Rhode Island, says that options are essential to students' satisfaction. If I have to eat carrots, they will be terrible, but if I pick carrots over green beans, the carrots might be wonderful. The state-run school lunch program offered no choice. Private vendors, on the other hand, offer about 20 alternatives daily.