All 6.2 million public school students will have the option to eat school meals for free when classrooms in California reopens for the fall term. 

The undertaking, made possible by an unexpected budget surplus, will be the most extensive free student lunch program in the country. 

Cities like New York, Boston, and Chicago already offer free school meals for all. Universal meal programs were considered too costly and unrealistic statewide. California adopted a universal program late last month, becoming the first state to do, followed shortly by Maine with a similar plan. 

Around 60% of California students qualify. According to experts, the number of children who need food assistance is much higher in a state with vast income inequality.