When California's public schools return for the autumn semester, all 6.2 million children will have the choice of eating free school meals, regardless of their family's poverty.
The project, which was made feasible by an unanticipated budget surplus, will be the country's largest free student meal program. It is being hailed by school administrators, legislators, anti-hunger organizations, and parents as a groundbreaking approach to avoid the stigma of accepting free meals and feed more poor children.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Erin Primer, director of culinary services for the San Luis Coastal Unified School District on California's central coast, described it as "beyond life-changing."
