How Philando Castile’s mother helped pioneer Tim Walz’s free school lunch program

Harris's running mate is lauded for bringing free meals to students in Minnesota, but it's little known that Valerie Castile's work - inspired by her son - helped drive legislation

When the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, named the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, as her running mate two weeks ago, the public lauded Walz for bringing free breakfast and lunch to all students throughout the state. Ever since, the topic of universal school meals has become a nationwide discussion. But it's little known that the work of Valerie Castile, the mother of Philando Castile, helped drive Walz's legislation.

After Philando was fatally shot by Minnesota police during a traffic stop in July 2016, Castile learned from her son's co-workers about his passion for reducing school lunch debt - the amount of money that households owe to school districts for covering meals they can't afford. As a school nutrition supervisor in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Philando was intimately familiar with food insecurity. He often paid for students' meals when they couldn't afford them and interjected when kids were bullied for receiving free lunch. Affectionately deemed Mr Phil" by students, he knew the names of all 500 children at JJ Hill Montessori school, their food allergies and how to keep them safe.