. >> reporter: but last month the situation completely change d fr zhou and her classmates. the school began serving lunch. students formed a long line to have their first meal. the menu, stewed pork and vegetables with a boiled egg and rice. zhou finally had enough to eat. >> reporter: the meal is being funded by contributions from city-based entrepreneurs. >> translator: you are china's future. let's work hard together. >> reporter: the program wouldn't have been possible without journalist deng fei. he set up a volunteer group in april to provide school lunches in rural villages. >> reporter: deng has raised around $4 million in donations and has started new programs in more than 100 schools. he's now one of the best known people in china. >> translator: i'm given strength each time i visit a school. the children's smiles are the source of my energy. >> reporter: deng works as a journalist for a magazine in beijing. to spread awareness about a school project he mainly uses a label, a chinese microblocking service similar to twitter. about 700,000 people follow deng's mess