The state of California has just become the first state to provide free meals to students who attend public schools and charter schools.
Now, on a statewide level, children who attend charter or public schools will no longer have to purchase breakfast or lunch at their schools no matter how much their parents make in income, KIRO 7 reports.
The new program is called the Universal Meals Program, a byproduct of the federal National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. The free meals will officially go into effect during the 2022 to 2023 school year.
“Building on the historic budget investments for our California students and schools, Universal Meals is one of seven key pillars for transforming schools designed to help students heal, recover, and thrive while maximizing this once-in-a-generation opportunity to break the cycle of educational inequity, including nutrition insecurity,” said a spokesperson for the California Department of Education in a statement.
Students with outstanding meal debt will have their accounts completely wiped clean and forgiven.
