A unique and highly favored breakfast-and-lunch program in Philadelphia schools is being eliminated by the United States Department of Agriculture, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. The 17-year-old program is targeted toward poor students and is the only one of its kind in the nation that does not require students and their families to fill out application forms for free or reduced-price meals. This increases the possibility of student participation. The elimination would affect approximately 121,000 students. According to a written appeal sent last month by the state Department of Education to the USDA, “The implications of eliminating the Universal Feeding Program within the school district will have devastating impacts.”
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