TRENDING

Over 30 million children rely on the education system in order to receive daily meals. As schools set to re-open, families will have to navigate through a global pandemic as they tackle their fears, uncertainties, and financial insecurities.  The School For Lunch All initiative, established by The Soze Agency and Galaxy Gives in partnership with the Urban School Food Alliance and Student Voice, was established to ensure K-12 students will have access to free school meals for the 2020 academic school year.

The campaign was launched on July 9th with the support of Hollywood actress and producer, Marsai Martin, who excitedly announced the launch of the campaign on the Twitter platform.

Today, I’m excited to launch the #SchoolLunchForAll campaign. We've created a petition that'll make sure all K-12 students have access to free school meals, without the threat of debt + humiliation.

1: Sign here ➡️https://t.co/MkCpo9tqyH
2: Follow @EndLunchDebt
3: Share! pic.twitter.com/tJ28fROMbw

— Marsai Martin (@marsaimartin) July 9, 2020

In a recent Twitter video, Marsai shared that her grandmother previously worked as a cafeteria worker in Denver public schools and Little Elm ISD. When her grandmother would return home from work she was saddened by the number of children who went without food and she had a desire to provide the students nutritional meals. Her grandmother passed away in 2016, but Marsai didn’t allow her grandmother's vision to die. “In her honor, I am doing my part to continue the mission to accomplish that goal,” Marsai shares.

The campaign has launched a petition on Change.org to raise awareness while pressuring the Senate Committee on Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture to reallocate funds for COVID-19 FUNDS to provide free meals for students for the upcoming academic school year. 

“Students have been shamed, sent to collections, and barred from participating in events like graduation. Schools should be helping students. Not hurting them, not shaming them, or forcing them into debt. That's why we are launching  School Lunch for All. A campaign asking our elected officials to ensure school meals are provided free of charge to every K-12 student in the country throughout 2020 and beyond,"  Marsai shared in a recent twitter video.

The petition was written by upset grandfather Dwight Howard, whose granddaughter’s story made national headlines when six-year-old Anya Howard had her meal taken away due to lack of funds in her account. “The faculty forced her to do a “walk of shame” to the back of the line to get an alternative cold lunch.  Her classmates laughed at her, and even though my granddaughter handled it well, she was heartbroken. She was 'lunch shamed,' a cruel practice punishing students for things they don’t control,” Howard shares.

“With all the things that kids have to worry about while attending school, I believe a healthy lunch shouldn’t be one of them,” Marsai shared in a statement. “Kids should be able to focus on learning while at school, not whether or not they have enough money to eat.”

Howard’s story is a testament to the reform required to improve school nutrition programs. Although the petition is almost at its goal of 15,000. Marsai is continuing to push for more signatures to amplify the initiative.

Who’s ready to help us get to 15,000 signatures? 30,000? Did I hear 50,000?@EndLunchDebt #schoollunchforall https://t.co/f5OaZeSgW0 pic.twitter.com/HnO7EClFBK

— Marsai Martin (@marsaimartin) July 13, 2020

If you want to be involved in creating meaningful change for students across the nation, sign the petition here! Be the change you want to see.

by Samantha Dorisca | 7/15/2020