In 2020, when schools across the country closed to slow the spread of Covid-19, federal lawmakers did something unprecedented: They decided to pay for free lunch for every public school student in America, every day, no questions asked.  Millions of children rely on free or reduced price meals at school. But now, that is not the case any longer at all schools. Children now go into debt in order to eat.

Debt can plague many of us at one time or another, but for a child debt should not be part of their young life. The national public school meal debt is $262 million a year. 30.4 million students can't afford their school meals. The average meal debt per child in the U.S. is $180.60 (yearly).

👉 We're giving major kudos to an organization whose focus is on eliminating that debt: All For Lunch. https://allforlunch.org/

If you're in a position to help, their website has details. Otherwise, sharing this information with others is always impactful! Thank you!

Source: Education Data Initiative, January 2024
📸: Feeding America