Push for free school lunches continues as unpaid meal debt surpasses $19 million

(InvestigateTV) — Schools across the United States are facing a crisis when it comes to feeding students.

“This is very important,” Dejuan Strickland, a freshman at St. Louis University High, said as he walked the halls of his school.

Today, he doesn’t worry about where his next meal will come from, but he remembers a time when he did.

“I was very hungry,” Strickland continued. “It was hard to go through school that day because I had nothing to eat.”

He recounted an experience in the fourth grade when his plate was taken away from him in the lunchroom.

“My lunch balance hit zero, so I didn’t have enough money to eat lunch that day. And that kind of really stuck with me because I had to sit at a table and watch other kids eat their lunch and I couldn’t eat lunch myself.”

Student Meal Debt on the Rise

Every public school student could get free meals in their cafeteria during the pandemic. That policy has since ended.

Now, parents in some districts across the country are struggling to afford the expense.

According to the School Nutrition Association, a conservative estimate of nationwide unpaid student meal debt is more than $19 million.

Among schools that have to charge for meals right now, 96% are reporting challenges with unpaid meal debt.

Diane Pratt-Heavner, a spokesperson for the School Nutrition Association, said meal debt has risen significantly recently.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in unpaid meal debt as a result of the end of federal pandemic waivers that allowed all schools to offer free meals to all students.”

The benefit for all public students ended in the 2022-2023 school year.

Pratt-Heavner also said inflation, coupled with stagnant or lost wages, has made the expense impossible for even middle-class families.

Our investigators interviewed Lori Danella, the Nutrition Director for Lee’s Summitt Schools in Missouri, on September 7. At that time she said the debt for its 25 buildings, was already at $10,000.

“We’ve been in school for 10 days. So we’re accumulating about $1,000 worth of debt a day,” Danella reiterated.

A lunch at the elementary schools in the district is $2.90. For its middle and high schools, $3.10.

She said even though that’s relatively affordable, many families struggle to pay for it.

“They have their mortgage, their rent, gas has increased, groceries has increased. So basically school meals have been put on the back burner so they could pay their other bills first.”

The Lee’s Summit school district says it will never deny a child a meal and it won’t hold the debt against them if they can’t repay it.

That comes at a cost to the district, which has to cover whatever is left.

Pratt-Heavner says many districts are carrying that burden.

“(They are) trying to find donations in their community to help cover the cost, and then even cutting into school district funds intended for education.”

Legislative Push Continues for Free Meals

This is why the School Nutrition Association is pushing Congress to bring back free meals for all public school students for good.

The issue is divisive.

Democrats in Congress have tried to bring back universal school meals permanently.

As of late 2023, the bill has no Republican co-sponsors. The Republican’s budget proposal wants to eliminate free meals for all students, saying school lunch and breakfast programs are subject to widespread fraud.

If it doesn’t happen on a federal level, each state could make the move.

So far, the following eight states have made the change:

• California
• Maine
• Minnesota
• New Mexico
• Colorado
• Vermont
• Michigan
• Massachusetts

It’s a change lawmaker Brian Seitz of Missouri wants to see happen, and he is an unlikely advocate for the measure.

“I think they found it unusual because I am a fiscal conservative, but this has something to do with children.”

Rep. Seitz is a Republican in a heavily Republican state.

He drafted a proposal for universal free meals in Missouri that never made it to committee, but he vows to try again.

“If kids can receive a better education, the test scores would improve. That’s great for the whole state and I think it’s something that we can do. Now, we just have to convince fellow lawmakers that there is a need.

Raising Money To Help

As Dejuan Strickland got older, he couldn’t shake the memory of going through the school day hungry.

He started a GoFundMe page to pay off student lunch debts at his former St. Louis area elementary school.

“The goal was $4,000. And we raised almost $10,000 to offset any lunch balances at schools. It was enough to split it with two other schools.”

His generosity and philanthropy saved students from feeling the same hunger and embarrassment he once felt.

“It could start making an impact.”

Dejuan knows there are so many others not getting that help.

He’s continuing efforts to raise money for students even if lawmakers won’t.

“(Children) can’t help it. They don’t have a job that they’re paying like they can pay it off and stuff. They have to rely on their parents. So as a kid, you’re just kind of really stuck there and that’s not a feeling that any kid should be experiencing at all.”

Many in Need Can’t Qualify for Current Programs

Right now, families with certain income levels can qualify for free or reduced meals at school.

However, many who are struggling to make ends meet don’t qualify because the guidelines say they make too much money.

The need also doesn’t stop at the end of the school year.

From Virginia to Hawaii and many places in between, we found school districts teaming up with national and local nonprofits to feed children during the summer.

To find a summer meal program near you, head to the US Food and Nutrition Services website at fns.usda.gov/meals4kids.

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