海角大神

If students at J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School in Minnesota couldn鈥檛 afford lunch, they knew they could go to 鈥淢r. Phil.鈥� Philando Castile would quietly pay out of his own pocket.听

Now, at least 1,788 schoolchildren have had their lunch debt erased as a way to honor the legacy of Castile, who was killed by police during a traffic stop in 2016. Philando Feeds the Kids听has paid the debt for every student enrolled in the National School Lunch Program in St. Paul鈥檚 56 schools, including J.J. Hill.

Children can鈥檛 focus on learning if they鈥檙e hungry. And school nutrition workers like Castile are the ones who most often see which kids are going without.

Generous people in other states like Massachusetts and Pennsylvania also have raised money to make sure the school lunch tray doesn鈥檛 come with a side of shame. And our EqualEd reporters wrote about New Mexico鈥檚 Hunger-Free Bill of Rights, which ensured that no child would be publicly embarrassed or go without food.听

Originally, the Minnesota fundraiser was designed to help J.J. Hill鈥檚 students, Pamela Fergus,听an instructor who started it last fall with her psychology class at St. Paul's Metropolitan State University, told . Now organizers have a new goal: Pay the cafeteria debt of every child in Minnesota.

The reasoning is simple: 鈥淗e loved those kids,鈥� Ms. Fergus says.

Now, here are our five stories of the day looking at unexpected optimism around one of the world's tensest relationships, the ways that global challenges can reverberate locally, and a new effort to show people wonders that need protecting.