Free school meals to be extended to half a million more of England’s poorest children

Free school meals to be extended to half a million more of England’s poorest children

Since 2018, children in England have only been eligible for free school meals if their household income is less than £7,400 per year, meaning hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty have been unable to access them. Now, from the start of the 2026 school year, every child whose household is on universal credit will be entitled to free school meals. The major policy expansion is expected to offer free meals to an additional 500,000 children across, lift 100,000 children out of poverty, and put an extra £500 in parents’ pockets.

Kyrgyzstan creates 3,000 square mile ecological corridor to protect biodiversity

The Kyrgyz Republic has announced the creation of a vast ecological corridor covering over 3,000 square miles, marking a major step forward in the Central Asian nation's conservation efforts. This new corridor is said to connect existing protected areas, including Khan-Tengri National Park and Naryn Nature Reserve, expanding the total protected landscape to over 4,600 square miles. Among the species benefiting are the snow leopard – classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN – and its prey, such as the Asiatic ibex and argali sheep.

The Yurok Tribe reclaims 17,000 acres of stolen land in California’s largest-ever landback deal

The Yurok people have lived along the Klamath River in Northern California for millennia. But when the California gold rush began, the tribe lost 90% of its territory. For the last two decades, the tribe has worked with the nonprofit Western Rivers Conservancy to get its land back. The 17,000 acres compose the final parcel of a $56 million, 47,097-acre land transfer that effectively doubles the tribe's land holdings. The tribe has already designated the land as a salmon sanctuary and community forest and plans to put it into a trust.

Pancreatic cancer vaccine eradicates deadly disease in more than half of targets in early trials

The pioneering work from Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University researchers targets pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common cancer that plagues the organ. While not the most common form of cancer, pancreatic cancer is particularly insidious, often remaining undetected until it metastasizes. The five-year survival rate is just 13.3%. In preclinical trials, the vaccine eliminated the cancer in more than half of the targets.

Once on the brink of local extinction, jaguars across the Brazil-Argentina border have more than doubled since 2010

In the 90s, the Green Corridor, a 457,000-acre stretch of protected land that links Argentina’s Iguazú National Park and Brazil’s Iguaçu, was home to between 400 and 800 jaguars. By 2005, that number had dropped to 40. Today, thanks to coordinated conservation efforts between the two countries, the population has grown to at least 105. Women-led economic initiatives and formal institutional support, like “Jaguar Friendly” certification for the local airport, have proven vital to strengthening human-wildlife connections and bolstering conservation efforts.

The school lunch movement begins in Europe (1790 C.E.)

The first school lunches were thought to be served in 1790 in Munich, Germany, by an American-born physicist, Benjamin Thompson, also known as Count Rumford. In Munich, Thompson founded the Poor People's Institute, which employed both adults and children to make uniforms for the German Army. They were fed and clothed for their work, and the children were taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. Years later, Thompson would feed 60,000 people a day from his soup kitchen in London.

Humanity effectively eliminates child malnutrition (2041 C.E. ???)

In 2022, 149 million children under 5 worldwide (more than 20% of all children) were estimated to be too short, while 45 million were estimated to be too thin. Undernutrition alone is the underlying cause in almost half of all deaths in children under 5. Malnutrition costs the global economy US$3.5 trillion a year. However, through international aid, national policy commitments, and local community work, humanity achieves the milestone of offering virtually every child on Earth the food they need to fully develop their bodies and minds.

Tell Congress: Ban utility shutoffs during heat waves

From 350.org: In 27 states, utility companies are allowed to shut off your power during extreme weather conditions, including deadly heat waves. These utility companies are putting profits before people, and the consequences are life or death. Before summer arrives, send a letter to Congress and demand that they ban utility companies from cutting off access to electricity and air conditioning during heat waves nationwide!  Send a letter.​

Peter Schulte Leadership coach Bellingham WA USA About | Instagram | Donate

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