As the school year begins, some students worry about how their families can pay off school lunch debts. But students in Jessamine County can rest easy after an anonymous donor paid off previous debts for every school in the Jessamine district.
School officials told LEX 18 that a family committed to paying $4,400 to cover the debt. The donor wishes to remain unnamed.
“It’s obviously nice to begin the school year debt-free and I think it’s probably comforting to parents to know that that has been covered by someone in the community,” Superintendent Matt Moore told LEX 18.
School lunch debt is a rising problem throughout the country. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides free lunch to students from eligible families. However, some families still struggle to pay for school lunches. Out of moral obligation, many schools still serve lunch to students who cannot pay.
According to the Food Research and Action Center, students are eligible for free lunch if their family’s income is below 130% of the federal poverty threshold ($32,630 for a family of four). If the family’s income is between 130% and 185% of the poverty line, students are eligible for reduced-price meals, which is no more than 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch.
The NSLP spends over $13 billion per year on reimbursing schools’ lunch costs for eligible students. But they do not allow schools to use that money to pay off debts for non-eligible students.
Schools have to find alternative ways to cover the cost or incentivize families to pay off their debt. Some schools do not allow students with lunch debt to attend school events such as homecoming or prom.
This act of kindness is not the first time the Jessamine school district has received a donation to cover lunch debt. In June 2017, the Jessamine Journal reported that members of the community raised over $4,000 to cover school lunch debts.
The Jessamine County School Board received an anonymous donation of $3,500 for lunch debt in May 2017, which prompted others to help pay the rest. The Jessamine County Democrats had the fundraiser at a rally they were hosting, and community members donated approximately $600.
“[We’re] just so appreciative to the families that reach out and try to make a difference in our community,” said Moore. “It is truly felt and we thank you very much.”
