Gao Defu, 10, is a student in a primary school in a small village in Guizhou. He used to go hungry or have only an ear of corn for lunch at noon. But now, Gao and his classmates have better food and vegetable dishes for free every day, thanks to the free lunch program.
The program was started by Deng Fei, a journalist at the Phoenix Weekly (《凤凰周刊》). Early this year, Deng met Xiao Yu, a primary school teacher from Guizhou, and was told that students in Xiao's school didn't have lunch to eat. Instead, they drank water to lessen their hunger.
Deeply shocked, Deng decided to do something for kids in the poor areas. He posted a message on his microblog (微博) saying he wanted to build a canteen (食堂) at Xiao's school. The message soon got the support and attention (注意) of tens of thousands of people around the country. In March, some 500 reporters, along with a dozen news organizations and charity funds (慈善基金), finally set up the free lunch program.
Local teachers and foundation workers calculated (计算) that one lunch for one child cost 3 yuan. People can donate for a meal, a month's worth of meals, or a year's worth of meals for children on the Internet by going to //www. mianfeiwucan. org.
According to the China Development Research Foundation (基金会) , there are about 23 million resident students (住宿生) in central and western rural areas. Many of them come from poor families and can't afford nutritious lunches. Now, schools with kids that can't afford lunch can apply for help through the free lunch program's official website.
In half a year, the program has raised more than 16 million yuan, providing free lunches for poor students in 77 schools.
