Metro charity makes first donation in campaign to eliminate school lunch debt
LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. (KCTV) - ‘Tis the season of giving, and a local organization is giving to help eliminate school lunch debt in two local elementary schools.
Representatives from Rogue Round Table stopped by with support for Hazel Grove and Underwood Elementary Schools in the Lee’s Summit School District Tuesday. They paid all outstanding school lunch debt for the schools.
“It’s a wonderful feeling to make this step, to actually get there and to know that we are impacting kids especially right before the holidays so that maybe we can reduce a little bit of stress,” said Vickie Miller, Executive Director of Rogue Round Table.
School lunch debt is a huge issue in the U.S. according to the Education Data Initiative:
- 68.8% of surveyed schools had unpaid student meal debt
- Kansas had $70,577,910 in school lunch debt last year
- Missouri had $136,784,640 in school lunch debt last year.
Education experts say children need meals to help them learn and grow. This group believes a universal school lunch program is needed.
“At school, they get their books, they get their chrome books, they get other fees paid, why not school meals?” says Lori Danella, Director of Nutrition for the Lee’s Summit School District.
“We have school districts impacted from the thousands of dollars every year to the hundreds of thousands every year in school lunch debt,” said Miller. “And that debt not only impacts the students with the debt, it impacts all the students.”
“If a school has a lunch debt balance at the end of the year, they have to absorb those costs,” says Miller. “And that comes from the education resources. In that case, everybody suffers.”
Rogue Round Table relies on donations to help in their mission to pay school lunch debt. They also urge people to contact their legislators to advocate for universal school lunch programs.
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