HOUSTON – A concerned teacher and a parent-teacher organization leader are behind two GoFundMe accounts in the Houston area designed to help hungry school children avoid lunch shaming by covering their unpaid school lunch debt.
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Their work is an effort to combat school lunch shaming, which has recently made it onto the national stage.
The federal Department of Agriculture is requiring districts to have a written policy in place by July 1, to help children avoid being singled out with "alternative lunch choices" or other embarrassing methods when balances aren't paid.
Christopher Robinson, a special education teacher in the Fort Bend Independent School District, and Amina Ishaq, president of the Williams Elementary PTO in Lamar Consolidated Independent School District, are behind the campaigns in our area to raise funds for children who are often in that situation.
Robinson, recently featured on CNN, explains in the video on his GoFundMe page that students whose parents have unpaid debt receive a lunch of a cold cheese sandwich in his district.
"I just felt I had to do something. I can't save everyone, but if I could do something about these cheese sandwiches, it would be worth it," Robinson told CNN.
Robinson’s campaign has raised $18,746 so far. That’s a lot of money, but he has a way to go with a goal of $400,000. The number isn’t an arbitrary one, according to Robinson. He said in a video posted on the page on May 18, 2016, that the district has a collective unpaid lunch debt of $400,000.
KPRC 2 contacted the district for current figures on the amount of unpaid lunch debt at Fort Bend ISD. A Fort Bend ISD spokesperson said the outstanding current amount is approximately $52,500.
As of April 2017, outstanding meal balances in FBISD amounted to approximately $52,500. Attached is information from our student handbook regarding meal charges.
The district also released this statement: "Our first priority is always our students, and so we work to communicate with parents in multiple ways regarding meal balances and the benefits they may be eligible to receive. Our parents receive weekly reminders whenever their child’s account is overdue by $5.00 or more. These reminders are sent electronically (via email) and via printed letters that are sent home with students or mailed to their home address. Parents can also sign up for email notifications regarding low lunch balances."
Currently, 20 million young people -- about 40 percent of all US students -- receive free lunches, up significantly from 13 million in 2000, CNN reported.
Ishaq’s campaign has raised $16,315 for Lamar CISD. The campaign’s current goal is $25,000. That amount was raised after the initial goal of $15,500 was reached following recent coverage on CNN.
Ishaq wrote, “I'm raising the initial goal so that we can put the rest of the money towards kids at LCISD who are most likely in jeopardy of losing their hot meals on a regular basis. The food service department knows of these children and their struggles. They will put the money in their accounts so that they can eat for the rest of the year and hopefully go into next year. A surplus for these kids will allow them to eat a hot meal for an extended time."
"Thanks so much to all of our donors and everyone who has shared this initiative. It's a united local grassroots effort that is taking a national stage. These are the small baby-steps that we take in order to see real change. Positive change in the national conversation towards awareness of this lunch crisis and hopefully change in legislation that will allow all of our children in public schools a free meal regardless of income!”
A Lamar CISD spokesman said the current unpaid school lunch debt is approximately $53,648.33. The district said the parent at the helm of the GoFundMe account has already donated more than $1,500, and that the district in working with the parent to recive additional funding. The district said the money is being used to pay off student debt.