The Lunch Lady Who Kept Showing Up

Maria Gonzalez drove her dented Honda Civic to Riverside Elementary every weekday morning at 5:45 a. m. , even during the government shutdown of 2019. When federal funding froze and school meal programs across the country ground to a halt, politicians pointed fingers and reporters filed stories. But Maria — a cafeteria worker making $11. 50 an hour — started cooking anyway, buying rice and beans with her own money.…