Congress ended the free-lunch-for-all program a few months ago. Now, in order for students to qualify for free lunch, a family of four must earn $36,000 a year or less.
"Without the free school meals for all, the school district is really in the need of money to pay for these meals because where is this money going to come from?” said Katie Wilson, executive director of the Urban School Food Alliance.“This whole idea with alternative lunch is you're still giving them food, why not give them a whole meal? I look at it this way: you have a hungry child and a hungry angry child,” Wilson said.
Very important to feed the kids! If you take away the barrier that is no fault of their own, they can focus on learning! Sometimes their best meals come from a school lunch, which means school nutrition programs need to also give them nutritious, tasty meals!