Well, in the US there are the Federal education programs such as Title 1, etc. etc., intended to mitigate the expense of federally mandated changes. They do pay the salaries of administrators charged with tracking compliance. The poorer the area, the more such programs. And there is the Federal School Lunch Program - part nutritional assistance for those who qualify, part agricultural subsidy. It is so significant that it has been expanded in an ad hoc manner to weekends and summers. In Arkansas in many districts children who qualify go home Friday with a back pack full of food to see them through the weekend.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."