Kurt Marthaller, who oversees school food programs in Butte, Mont., faces many cafeteria-related challenges: children skipping the lunch line because they fear being judged, parents fuming about surprise bills they can鈥檛 afford, unpaid meal debts of $70,000 districtwide.
But at nearly half of Mr. Marthaller鈥檚 schools, these concerns have vanished. At those schools, all students get free breakfast and lunch, regardless of their family鈥檚 income. At one school, West Elementary, children grab milk cartons, cereal bars and bananas from folding tables on their way to class, with almost 80 percent of students eating breakfast there each school day.
鈥淲e鈥檝e done a lot of good things to feed kids here in Butte,鈥 Mr. Marthaller said. But introducing universal free meals, he added, was 鈥減robably the best thing we ever did.鈥
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