One in eight children in California go hungry
California is set to become the first state in America to introduce free school meals across the region from the 2022-2023 school year onwards.
The Universal Meals Program is the first of its kind in the US and will provide a minimum of two free meals, breakfast and lunch, to school children as part of a $150 million statewide initiative.
#SchoolMealsForAll signed! @CAgovernor @GavinNewsom’s education package provides $650M annually (starting SY 22-23) for all CA public school students to receive FREE breakfast and lunch! Additional $150M for freshly-prepared meals with staff training & school kitchen upgrades 🎉 pic.twitter.com/PKg7KahKrb
— schoolmealsforall (@schoolmeals4all) July 12, 2021
Spearheaded by California’s governor Gavin Newsom, the bill itself was passed in 2021 and is now preparing to roll out, providing food for those from kindergarten age (nursery or reception here in the UK) all the way up to 12th grade (year 13 or sixth form).
Newsom stated on Twitter that not only will California become the first to take this positive step, but that the state can now guarantee that “6 million of [their] public school students” will no longer have to worry about going without a meal.
It is currently estimated that one in eight Californian children go hungry and one in five when comes to adults.
California is the first state to guarantee all 6 million of our public school students free meals. https://t.co/58rsqbiMkY
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 13, 2022
The new law will ensure that public school districts, county offices of education and charter schools will benefit from morning and afternoon meals.
The reaction to the reform has been overwhelmingly positive and Americans are now calling for the US government to make free school meals universal across the country, as well pump more money into other infrastructural and social issues.
The government have €5 BILLION more income than expected this year.
Don't believe them when they say we "can't afford" proper public services.
€5bn is enough to:
🚍 Make public transport free
🧓 Scrap all 3rd level fees
🍲 Free school meals nationwide
🏡 Build 10k homes— Paul Murphy 🏳️⚧️ (@paulmurphy_TD) August 4, 2022
I challenge the anti-abortion states to do the same.#WWJDhttps://t.co/ZmEuIr4DwZ
— Franca Russo Rivera ❤️💛 (@FrancaRose33) August 13, 2022
It is now also believed that states like Maine and Vermont are also set to introduce their own free school meal schemes, hopefully signalling even more to follow suit.
I'm excited for this upcoming school year because California, Maine, and Vermont will provide free school meals for all students.
Investing in kids is a great way to spend tax dollars. Other states should follow this example.
— Salaam Bhatti (@salaam) August 12, 2022
While it might be more common here in the UK, it wasn’t too long ago that Marcus Rashford’s 2021 campaign gave Britain a stark reminder of how vital nutritious school meals are for the millions of low-income households across the country.
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