This month, the West Ada School District announced its “Helping Hungry Minds” campaign aimed at supporting children who rely on school cafeterias for meals but can’t always afford to pay.
The state’s largest school district’s unpaid school lunch balance exceeded $100,000 last school year. West Ada Schools Nutrition Superintendent Ann Block said the district is on track to double that pace so far this year.
“It is our policy to feed children in the lunch line and will not turn students away based on free/reduced price status or meal balances,” she wrote in an email.
Meal-based debt occurs when students continue to receive meals regardless of their ability to pay. This is common in many school districts across the country.
Donors canceled last school year’s debt last summer. A new fundraising campaign is asking the community to sponsor food for her for a day, a week or longer.
For example, one lunch costs $2.80. One month’s worth of lunches is $58.80. Breakfast costs about two-thirds of lunch.
“Donations to Help Hungry Minds help ensure all West Ada students thrive in the classroom and are a great way to spread kindness and generosity this holiday season,” Block said of the campaign. This was stated in a news release.
No child is hungryA Washington, D.C.-based advocacy nonprofit reports that students who eat school breakfast attend class more often and score higher on standardized tests than the average student.
Block said the district continues to work on improving cost efficiency in nutritious meal plans. We are encouraging parents to fill out applications for free and reduced-price meals and are reaching out directly to families to help combat negative food balances.
“Like all school nutrition experts, we and all school nutrition experts want to see universal free meals become a reality. I just want to be able to focus,” she said.
The fundraising campaign runs through December. Donations can be made by mail, in person at district headquarters, or Page served by Westada.org. Gifts must include a note stating that the funds are for school nutrition services. Donations will be processed by the West Ada Education Foundation.
