AZUSA, Calif. — All of California public school students — more than 6.2 million — will be able to receive free food at school regardless of their family's income thanks to the state's budget surplus.  

What You Need To Know

  • All California public school students will now receive free food at school

  • More than 6.2 million students can now eat for free regardless of their family's income due to a state budget surplus

  • In 2022, California will spend $650 million a year to give every child a free meal, creating the country's largest free student lunch program

  • Free food has already been made available during the pandemic, thanks to state and federal funds

Free food has already been made available during the pandemic, thanks to state and federal funds. Starting in 2022, California will spend $650 million a year to give every child a free meal, creating the country's largest free student lunch program.

Gladstone High School student Althea Ito knows eating at school is a privilege that not all her fellow students have. She remembers the moment a kid in front of her in line couldn't eat.

"One of the lunch ladies is like, 'Oh, yeah, your parents couldn't pay for it, so you're going to have to wait it out,'" Ito recalled. "I don't understand why we're turning away kids who are trying to get lunch just because they may be behind."

Her friend Hector Hernandez has similar memories. He has friends who couldn't afford the main meal and were embarrassed when they got the alternative.

"It would be like a brown paper bag, and you would just know they didn't have enough money or they just couldn't get a meal today," Hernandez said.

Now every student who eats in the cafeteria will get a free meal, no questions asked.

Related Stories

Maria Calderon, the director of Nutrition Services at Azusa Unified School District, said free meals are the best news she's heard during her 15 years in the industry. The staff will have to buy more food to meet the demand, but it also means they can meet the needs of more students, including undocumented students who have historically been reluctant to fill out an application to receive a free meal.

"Many were able to submit an application, but many felt that it was something that they couldn't take a risk, and they really were embarrassed or they really thought it was going to affect their citizenship so they would not submit their applications," Calderon said. "To start the year without having to have that conversation and really just emphasizing that it's free regardless has been great."