The end of free lunches for kids due to COVID, and 2 friends aim to run a 5K in every Mass. town

47:57

June 29, 2022

This is the rundown for Radio Boston for June 28. Carrie Jung is our host.

Thursday is the last day any child, regardless of income, can eat lunch for free at schools across the nation. Congress failed to renew the pandemic-era provision. Locally, there are efforts in Massachusetts to extend the program for the next school year, but the legislation might not pass as state lawmakers scramble to finalize a budget for the fiscal year that begins Friday. We'll speak with two school officials about what the program did for their districts.
Food insecurity increased during the pandemic. A farm in Concord hopes growing its own vegetables and distributing that produce to local food pantries and soup kitchens could help those in need. We hear from the organization, called Gaining Ground, and a pantry in Sudbury that partners with the farm.
Beginning on Halloween 2021, Karen Pajer of Leicester and Scott Schaeffer-Duffy of Worcester have been on a mission to run a 5K in each of Massachusetts' 351 towns, all in the course of 351 days. With less than 100 runs left, they share their favorite runs, their hardest runs and how they've learned to appreciate the commonwealth in a new way.
We're also talking about running for your physical and mental health with Dr. Adam Tenforde, medical director of the Spaulding National Running Center, and Benjamin Lipiecki, one of the organizers of The Most Informal Running Club, Ever, who has advice for new runners.

This program aired on June 29, 2022.