Gaston County Schools had $13K in student lunch debt. Here’s how one church paid it off.

A church in Gastonia took care of thousands of dollars in student lunch debt in Gaston County Schools.

Now Dickie Spargo, City Church’s lead pastor, hopes this “generosity is contagious.”

Recently, Spargo and his wife Tammy read an article about the large number of students in the state with outstanding meal debt.

The pair called on the church community to help.

“We want(ed) to show the love of Jesus in a real way that meets the needs of people,” Spargo told the Charlotte Observer.

City Church raised more than $26,000 to pay off the $13,000 lunch debt students have amassed in Gaston County Schools so far this year. The rest of the money will go toward any debt incurred for the rest of this year and next school year.

“We are grateful for the church’s support and willingness to help,” said Angela Calamia, director of school nutrition for Gaston County Schools.

The district received the check Friday, Calamia told the Observer.

“Certainly, donations like the one received from City Church and others that come in from individuals, civic groups, and organizations help our school cafeterias with managing school meal debt and balancing it with providing healthy, nutritious meals for students,” she said.

In Gaston County, K-12 students pay $1.40 for breakfast. Elementary students pay $2.90 for lunch, and middle and high school students pay $3.

More than 400 people from Spargo’s congregation donated the money in one week, Spargo says.

“So many families are struggling right now,” he said, “and we want to be a blessing to these families.”

Districts report unpaid meal challenges

The end of a pandemic-era free school lunch program has put a strain on schools, according to the School Nutrition Association.

Pandemic waivers allowed all schools to offer free meals to all students. Free meal service has continued in high-poverty schools enrolled in Community Eligibility Provision. It’s a federal nutrition program that provides free breakfast and lunch meals for schools that qualify based on low-income/socioeconomic factors.

But most districts now require families to complete free and reduced-price meal applications and non-eligible students must pay for meals, the SNA says.

Roughly 90% of K-12 school lunch programs across the country reported a challenge getting families to submit forms for free and reduced-price meals, according to results from an SNA survey released in January.

It’s an issue many districts knew they would face, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Last May, CMS officials pleaded with families to make sure and fill out the application.

Nearly 97% of districts called unpaid meal charges/debt a challenge, the survey found, and are seeing an increase in unpaid meal debt since the loss of the pandemic waiver.

Calamia says Gaston County has 19 schools that qualify for CEP, which accounts for a third of the public schools in Gaston County.

“We believe our school meal debt would be much higher if we did not have CEP,” Calamia said. “From year to year, our school meal debt is in the $15,000 range. I understand that is relatively low when compared to other school districts.”

Pastor: It’s heartbreaking

When a student reaches the limit on charging meals, the school notifies parents and works with parents, Calamia says.

“We do provide an alternate meal plan whenever a student cannot pay to ensure that no student goes hungry,” she said. “Our schools do a good job of working with families to ensure that students can enjoy meals even when there are financial hardships.”

Spargo says Gaston County Schools allow students to charge up to five meals. If payment is not made after that, they get a complimentary lunch with a sandwich and milk, until the debt is paid.

“The greater story is that we do have kids in our schools that are not getting a hot lunch,” he said. “That is heartbreaking.”