District says kids with lunch debt will eat cheese sandwiches. Then community steps in
A Georgia school district battling a mountain of school lunch debt following the COVID-19 pandemic told parents it would be changing the meal option for students carrying a balance.
Just a few weeks later, the balance was paid at the metro Atlanta district.
In an email obtained by Decaturish.com, City Schools of Decatur director of Nutrition Monique Breedlove announced a change to the district’s school lunch policies on Jan. 9 that would prevent students carrying lunch debt from taking a full lunch.
McClatchy News reached out to the district for more information on Jan. 25 and was awaiting a response.
The change, which would go in effect on Feb. 1, was the result of the ending of federal funds given to public schools during the pandemic to ensure every student was fed, the district said in the email.
“The program ended in 2022, and the district resumed the regular practice of meal charges, with notifications of outstanding balances,” Breedlove wrote in the email. “During the 22-23 school year, students were allowed to continue to receive regular priced meals even if they had a balance on their account. The unpaid lunch fees have resulted in a districtwide $88,000 balance, and a change in our meal payment procedure is required.”
Instead of students being able to charge lunches to their accounts, those with remaining balances would be given a cheese sandwich and milk, WAGA reported.
For middle and high school students, their lunch debt had to remain under $10.50 to keep their regular lunches, and elementary school students had their school lunch debt capped at $9.75, according to the outlet.
The district noted the change doesn’t apply to students receiving free or reduced lunches through the schools.
The Decatur School Board met on Jan. 17 and heard concerns from parents about the scheduled change, Decaturish.com reported.
Parents were concerned about “the potential for children to be shamed by their peers, and the potential for students to be punished for something out of their control,” according to the outlet.
Among those concerned was Atlanta-area CEO and childhood nutrition advocate Jasmine Crowe-Houston.
Crowe-Houston is the founder of Goodr, a startup aimed at fighting hunger and food waste across the country, according to its website.
On Jan. 23, she started a GoFundMe to raise money to pay off the lunch debt
“Recently, I learned on Twitter/X that the school district planned to serve cheese sandwiches to students with unpaid meal account balances,” Crowe-Houston wrote on the GoFundMe page. “This practice can be embarrassing and stigmatizing for the kids, affecting their self-esteem and overall well-being.”
Speaking on KISS 104.1 on Jan. 25, Crowe-Houston said she worried about not only the nutritional concerns but also the culture in schools today with social media and bullying, and said a child being forced to eat a different meal in front of their peers could be a triggering experience.
“They have more tools to spread their message a lot further. They can post a TikTok showing like, ‘Hey look I’m eating lasagna and this kid is eating a cheese sandwich again,’” Crowe-Houston said on the show.
Crowe-Houston said she spoke with the school district that was unable to take electronic payments from non-district parents, but would accept donations.
The GoFundMe was shared on social media — then the donations came pouring in.
Nearly 2,000 people from across the city, district and country donated to the cause, raising more than $85,000 in 48 hours.
Donations ranged from $10 to upwards of $2,000 from named and anonymous donors.
“My hands are shaking as I write this update this morning,” Crowe-Houston wrote in a Jan. 25 update on GoFundMe. “My heart is overwhelmed with emotion, astonishment, and gratitude as I wake up to the incredible news that we’ve achieved our goal in under 48 hours!”
Crowe-Houston said she spoke to the district’s superintendent on Jan. 24 to assure the donated funds would go directly toward paying off the lunch debt, and said any remaining amount would be designated as a “reserve nutrition fund to prevent kids from falling behind in the future.”
She said she would provide an update with proof of delivery to the school district once the funds had been disbursed from GoFundMe. Donations are closed on the site as of Jan. 25.
Decatur is on the east side of Atlanta, about 6 miles from downtown.
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