School lunch was free for all public school students during the pandemic but, last fall, students had to begin paying again, and families that qualified had to sign up for free or reduced cafeteria meals. Since then, school districts in the Midwest say fewer kids are eating lunch and meal debt is soaring. Kate Grumke reports for Harvest Public Media on how state and federal officials are responding.

Water levels in the Ogallala Aquifer continue to plummet — farming irrigation swallows more than 2 billion gallons of groundwater a day. David Condos of the Kansas News Service reports that, after decades of little action on the issue, Kansas might be shifting toward a more committed, and perhaps even mandatory, approach to saving the Ogallala.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Luke X. Martin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, Byron Love, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate