compensation
A few lines to the money factor.
Years ago, working for a crappy outfit with an even crappier chief pilot our crew meals (average at best) were being scrapped under alleged budget reason's following 911. Never saw more pax post 911 and did not see the logic but then again, I am a pilot and not an airline manager.
The process had already been initiated in reducing the amount of food making up the meal and a steady deterioration in the quality in general. During one of the pilot meetings, a fellow colleague asked if it was possible to give the crew member a small amount of money so that he/she could purchase a decent sandwich at the airport, while saving the company money. After all, the delivery charges for the crew meals are usually not in relation to the quality or quantity of the food.
The beloved individual at the front of the foodchain replied: money is no substitute for food.
Although technically correct, the answer bears no relevance to the fact that 'his' boys were steering 'his' aircraft on an empty stomach.
From a safety point of view the financial compensation for scrapping the meals while saving the company money could be a big win. Needless to say that the proposed suggestion was dismissed. As was the airline some years later.