Iranian-born entrepreneur clears Oakland students' lunch debt

 A refugee who fled Iran has donated enough money to cover outstanding lunch debt for hundreds of students in the Oakland Unified School District, writes Lisa Fernandez for the Fox KTVU website. 

Through his company, One Planet in Walnut Creek, CEO Payam Zamani gifted $15,600 to the district's nutrition services department.

His contribution, announced the day before Christmas Eve, now helps wipe out the fall semester meal debt for students who qualify for reduced priced meals. 

“It was important for all of us ... to do our small part to help eliminate one of the hurdles children face to receiving an education - the unnecessary financial stress associated with one of the most basic needs, food,” Zamani said. "If we truly care, we wouldn't let this happen in our own backyard." 

Zamani told KTVU on Tuesday hat he remembers all too well being poor when he first immigrated to the United States in 1988, fleeing religious persecution in Iran. 

He is a member of the Bahai faith, and that religious group is not allowed to attend university in Iran.  Zamani put himself through college and earned a bachelor's of science in environmental toxicology from the University of California, Davis. He remembers that as a student, all he had was roughly $20 a week, which he spent on potatoes. He doesn't want to forget his past. So now, in addition to being a serial entrepreneur of a company that funds tech start-ups, Zamani and his wife are also philanthropists and supporters of civil rights.

Read the full article on the Fox KTVU website

Also read: 

50 Iranian-Americans you Should Know: Payam Zamani