A fundraising campaign in memory of Philando Castile has raised enough cash to pay off the student lunch debt in St Paul, Minnesota, for a year.
Mr Castile, 32, worked as a nutrition services supervisor before he was shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop in July 2016.
...
"We had a $5,000 (£3,800) goal which I thought was bold at the time. We raised about $17,000 (£12,900) in one week."
The campaign has now collected $75,892 (£57,000) from more than 2,000 donors.
Prof Fergus, who has been a college teacher for the last 15 years, told the BBC she has collected enough money to pay off debt owed by all students in elementary, middle and high schools across St Paul for one year.
...
Mr Castile was also a familiar face at St Paul Public Schools, where he was one of the 60 nutrition supervisors.
"He was well known here. He was a very compassionate person with a quiet demeanour, always very polite. You could get the sense that he had a really big heart and looked out for students," Stacy Koppen, the director for nutrition services at St Paul Public Schools, told BBC News.
...
Many parents don't qualify for the food programme, she said, sometimes falling short by as much as $10.
Mr Castile would sometimes pay for children's lunches out of his own pocket if they were short of cash.
"He was one of those special supervisors who would cover lunch for students if they had no money."
