California Becomes First to Provide Free Meals to All Public School Students

A student receives a pre-packaged lunch at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles on April 27, 2021. Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

All K-12 public school students in California will have access to free breakfast and lunch at school this year under a new state program.

The Universal Meals Program makes California the first state to launch a statewide meal program. The state has about 6 million public school students.