Riccelli had hoped that Washington could join two states, California and Maine, which became the first to permanently adopt universal school meals after the end of a federal program that temporarily expanded free school meals for all public K-12 students nationwide.
The summer of 2022 saw the end of that universal free breakfast and lunch program, which was a COVID-19 financial relief program to help address the job losses and other financial burdens faced by families during the pandemic. That program enabled Washington schools to offer meals at all schools for free during the 2020-21 and 2021-2022 school years.
Many families in Washington, and across the country, lost access to
→ Continue reading at Crosscut
