I made out I didn’t like stuff because it cost too much

HOW FREE SCHOOL MEALS TRANSFORMED ONE YOUNG LIFE

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MY mum was a single parent and she worked three jobs to look after me. I was anxious watching her be stressed and she was stressed every day. She was always worried about how she was going to put food on the table.

I felt guilty that my mum had to worry about feeding me. I used to save up pocket money from relatives during Eid and I would put pocket money in my mum's purse thinking she wouldn't notice, just so she had enough food for us. It was a very difficult time.

Having that free meal at school allowed me some respite. I could forget about all the troubles I was having at home with food and just be a child. I could just be a normal child, the same as everyone else and my mum had one less thing to worry about.